by Christopher Sharma

Various NGOs denounce " the presence of people locked up in structures that are damaged and at risk of collapse”. 55% of prisons collapsed and cannot be reused. The government will not provide official data on the number of prisoners who died during the earthquake on 25 April. The families are demanding that safety is ensured and survivors transferred elsewhere.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - "At least 20 prisoners died in the earthquake and more than 100 were injured. But we do not have the official figures and we fear that the number is much higher”, says Sudip Pathak, activist and member of the National Commission for Human Rights in Nepal.

According to unofficial sources in fact, the violent earthquake that struck the country on April 25 – which caused over 8 thousand confirmed dead and 17 thousand injured - destroyed or damaged more than half of the prisons in Nepal.

Among the 20 prisoners who died in the collapse of prisons, at least 16 were in the central prison of Kathmandu. Now victims' relatives and activists are asking the government to ensure the safety of those who survived.

Pathak criticizes the inefficiency of the government "to ensure the safety of those who are under its control. They continue to hold prisoners in old, dilapidated and damaged facilities and this is a state crime. The government is not able to provide exact data on the total capacity of the prisons, the number of prisoners - a distinction between citizens and foreigners - and wounded. This is not a democratic government. We managed to collect unofficial information from various non-governmental organizations, given that the state is afraid of victims. "

Prison guard Bed Bahadur Karki, who works in the central prison in the capital, confirmed the number of 16 victims - all of Nepalese nationality - but he cannot give information on the situation of other prisons. "About 200 people were present during the quake. They are all terrified but we have no alternatives and we cannot move them to another area. The inmates died due to the collapse of the old buildings, when the walls fell upon them, "he reports.

Nira Tamang, the widow of Som Bahadur Tamang who died in the central prison, received the body of her dead husband. The woman told AsiaNews: "Crimes must be punished, but the country does not have the right to kill people, forcing them to live in dilapidated places that can collapse at any moment." "My husband – she continued - would have come out of prison a week later. But he was killed. The government must pay for that crime. All detainees survivors suffer from psychological trauma, because the police did not allow them to go outdoors even during the earthquake".

Puskar Karki, Head of the Investigation Division of the Kathmandu police, rejects these charges: "We deal with detainees when they are being charged, but after the transfer to prison we have nothing to do with them."

Surya Siwal, secretary of the Minister of Internal Affairs, also rejects responsibility for what happened: "We treat the issue seriously, but the consequences of such natural disasters are beyond our control. We are providing the necessary care to the survivors and planning the safest places. "

According to data released by the government, 55% of the prisons in areas affected by the earthquake are not safe, and few of these can be reused. In the country there are about 17,000 inmates in 72 districts.

During the earthquake of April 25, 90% of the buildings in the capital suffered serious structural damage and the government in recent days has decided to suspend all previously approved construction projects because "they do not meet public safety criteria".

• nepal
• prisons
• earthquake
• victims
• collapse
• safety