Foreign Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha on Friday submitted a protest note to British ambassador to Nepal John Tucknott requesting immediate release of Nepal Army colonel Kumar Lama who was taken into custody by British police over allegations of committing war crimes and human rights abuse during the conflict. Colonel Lama was in UK to visit his wife and was arrested by the police on Thursday.
Speaking at the press conference organised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Shrestha said that the arrest of Lama, who has been serving in the United Nations mission in Sudan, is against the principle of international law and jurisdiction of a sovereign country. Lama has been held in custody under section 134 of UK’s Criminal Justices Act 1988, which allows the Metropolitan police to arrest individuals suspected of overseas war crimes, torture, and human rights abuses.