Committee to continue questioning suspended CJ Rana on Thursday
The suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher Rana on Wednesday furnished his statement before the impeachment recommendation committee of the federal parliament. The recording of his statement will be continued on Thursday too, as the discussion was held on only four questions on Wednesday. He will be quizzed at 11:00 am the next day. Following the interrogation, lawmaker Lalbabu Pandit said interrogation of suspended CJ Rana had begun. In the committee discussion, Rana was facing accusation, he added, saying, “The interrogation began with the accusation he was labeled. Questions and answers continued for four hours on corruption, use of brokers at SC, delayed justice delivery etc today.” The impeachment recommendation committee has prepared 43 questions to be put forth before the suspended CJ. Only four questions were dealt today. Similarly, lawmaker in the committee Min Bishwokarma viewed it would take time for the interrogation and its conclusion. Meanwhile, the suspended CJ Rana argued the he was not guilty but the allegations were made one-sidedly to him. Although the issue of impeachment could be settled within three months of impeachment motion, it has just entered the parliament committee after six months. Earlier, on 24 August, the impeachment recommendation committee had decided to summon Rana for the interrogation. A total of 98 lawmakers had registered impeachment motion against CJ Rana on 13 February early this year. Although the lawmaker had formed the impeachment recommendation committee, the committee held its first meeting just two weeks back. The Nepal Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association have submitted a 34-point letter to the committee to substantiate the impeachment motion. In the letter, the logic and reasons behind impeachment motion have been mentioned. On Wednesday, the suspended CJ Rana had reached Singh Durbar at 10:45 am while the committee meeting began at 11:00am.
China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang - UN report
The UN has accused China of "serious human rights violations" in a long-awaited report into allegations of abuse in Xinjiang province, BBC reported.
China had urged the UN not to release the report - with Beijing calling it a "farce" arranged by Western powers.
The report assesses claims of abuse against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities, which China denies.
But investigators said they uncovered "credible evidence" of torture possibly amounting to "crimes against humanity".
They accused China of using vague national security laws to clamp down on the rights of minorities and establishing "systems of arbitrary detention".
The report, which was commissioned by the UN's Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, said prisoners had been subjected to "patterns of ill-treatment" which included "incidents of sexual and gender-based violence".
The UN recommended that China immediately takes steps to release "all individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty" and suggested that some of Beijing's actions could amount to the "commission of international crimes, including crimes against humanity".
The World Uyghur Congress, an umbrella group representing about 60 organisations, welcomed the report and urged a swift international response, according to BBC.
"This is a game-changer for the international response to the Uyghur crisis," Uyghur Human Rights Project Executive Director Omer Kanat said. "Despite the Chinese government's strenuous denials, the UN has now officially recognized that horrific crimes are occurring."
There are about 12 million Uyghurs, mostly Muslim, living in Xinjiang. The UN said non-Muslim members may have also been affected by the issues in the report.
But Beijing - which saw the report in advance - denies allegations of abuse and argued that the camps are a tool to fight terrorism.
Its delegation to the UN human rights council in Geneva rejected the findings of the report, which it said "smeared and slandered China" and interfered in the country's internal affairs.
"This so-called 'assessment' is a politicized document that ignores the facts, and fully exposes the intention of the US, Western countries and anti-China forces to use human rights as a political tool," it said in a lengthy statement, BBC reported.
EU Russia: Bloc toughens visa regime but no ban
European Union foreign ministers have agreed to suspend a visa agreement with Moscow, making it harder for Russian citizens to obtain entry to the bloc, BBC reported.
Ukraine and some member states had called for a blanket ban, but others like France and Germany were opposed.
More than a million Russian citizens have travelled to the EU since the invasion of Ukraine in February.
Several eastern EU countries which border Russia are expected to impose further restrictions.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Glushko said the EU was "shooting itself in the foot" and the move would not go unanswered.
Impeachment motion was brought to make Deepak Karki Chief Justice: Rana
Suspended Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana said that the impeachment motion was filed against him to make Deepak Karki the Chief Justice. In a statement given to the Parliamentary Impeachment Recommendation Committee on Wednesday, Rana said that he had to face false accusations while trying to strengthen the judiciary. “The impeachment motion was brought to make Deepak Karki the Chief Justice,” he said. While recording his statement, Chief Justice Rana said that he came to the Impeachment Recommendation Committee to respect the Parliament. He further said that some elements are trying to weaken the judiciary. Meanwhile, he expressed his dissatisfaction over the impeachment motion registered against him. “Why did the ruling coalition bring the impeachment motion proposal?” he questioned, “The CPN-UML should have brought the proposal.” Rana said that the impeachment motion should be filed against five other incumbent justices of the Supreme Court, not only him. On top of that, he said that the Parliament should maintain power balance with the judiciary. Rana reached Singha Durbar to give his statement this morning. The Parliament has formed an 11-member committee to look into the case. One-fourth of the members of Parliament had tabled an impeachment proposal against Rana as per Article 101 (2) of the Constitution of Nepal. As many as 98 lawmakers of the ruling coalition on February 13 had registered the motion against Rana. The then Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party Whip Pushpa Bhushal, Maoist Center Chief Whip Dev Gurung and Unified Socialist Party Whip Jeevanram Shrestha were the proposers. The proposal was supported by 95 lawmakers. Earlier, the Nepal Bar Association had staged protests for 109 days demanding resignation of Rana.
