Nepal's top court on Thursday said two bodies set up to investigate war crimes committed during the country's decade-long civil conflict would not be able to grant amnesty for serious rights abuses. Former Maoist rebels and security forces have both been accused of carrying out torture, killings, rape and "forced disappearances" during the civil war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2006.
Two commissions for transitional justice set up last week were given the power to grant them amnesty, but Nepal's Supreme Court revoked that power after a mass petition filed by 234 victims. "It is a landmark judgement. The court has addressed the concerns of the victims and paved way to grant them justice," advocate Dinesh Tripathi, who represented the victims in the case, told AFP. "The commissions were based on a faulty law. It is now the government's responsibility to correct it." No amnesty can be given for serious cases of rights abuses on any ground, the court said, adding that the victim must give approval for any act of reconciliation.