Nepal 'abuses protesters' rights'

The police have been accused of heavy-handedness

The Nepalese authorities' treatment of thousands of anti-monarchy protesters has been sharply criticised by the country's human rights watchdog.

Opposition group say up to 2,000 people are being held after days of protests in the capital, Kathmandu.

The government says all but about 300 of these people were swiftly released.

The National Human Rights Commission says the detainees are held in inhuman conditions, often without access to food or water.

The protesters have been gathering in Kathmandu's streets for the past week, calling for King Gyanendra to loosen his grip on government.

The king dismissed parliament and the elected cabinet in 2002 and has been replacing it with politicians of his own choosing.

Maoist fears

The protests continued on Sunday, despite a ban against public demonstrations issued last Thursday.

Our correspondent says the protesters are often whisked away in waiting police trucks and vans almost as soon as they arrive.

The protesters are calling on the king to reinstate parliament

On Friday, a total of 945 people, including senior opposition leaders, were "taken to safety" then released after raids in the capital, according to the government.

The report by an independent watchdog, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, said authorities were denying detainees basic sanitation facilities, food and water.

It urged the government to abide by a human rights agreement it had signed.

Nepal's government imposed a ban on protests on the grounds they might be infiltrated by Maoist rebels.

A rebel army of peasants, led by left-wing ideologues, has been waging an eight-year-old uprising in Nepal, which has left an estimated 8,000 people dead.

They want the monarchy abolished in favour of a communist republic.

The King returns to Kathmandu on Sunday following a tour of the country.