115 political detainees freed in Nepal

NEPAL: Some 115 political leaders and human rights activists were released from detention in Nepal Tuesday after being rounded up in a recent crackdown on dissent, an official said.

Of these, 106 were freed from various police stations in the capital, while nine were released from neighbouring Patan town, Shushil Ghimrie, Kathmandu's chief administrator, told AFP. The United Nations said that some 800 activists and political leaders were rounded up and detained by King Gyanendra's government ahead of controversial municipal elections held last week.

Opposition parties pushed aside by the king when he seized power just over a year ago were organizing anti-royal protests when the roundups began on January 17.

The government said the detentions were necessary because opposition parties had said they would disrupt the polls, which the king touted as a step towards restoring democracy in the Himalayan country.

The detentions caused a slew of international criticism, with India, Britain, Japan, the European Union and the United States calling on the royal government to free those behind bars. "Some were released on the basis of a court order, and some were released by the government without any reason," Ghimrie said. Kathmandu, Wednesday, AFP