Nepalese officers tortured girl

Rights groups have criticised the army for abuses

Three army officers in Nepal have been found guilty of torturing a 15-year-old girl they said they suspected of being a Maoist rebel.

The colonel and two captains were tried by a military court after the girl died in detention last year.

They were given six month prison sentences but have been released as they have already spent that amount of time in detention.

Human rights groups have denounced the sentences as insufficient.

Both the army and the rebels stand accused of human rights abuses.

'No intention'

Speaking to the BBC, an army source said the girl, Maina Sunuwar, had died in the course of interrogation.

He said the officers, Colonel Bobby Khatri and Captains Amit Adhikary and Sunil Adhikary , were punished for mistreating and torturing her, but denied there had been any intention to kill her.

The colonel is the highest-ranking officer to date to face such action, officials say.

The officers have also been ordered to pay compensation of about $1,500 to the victim's family and had any future promotions delayed.

Soldiers went to the home of Maina Sunuwar in February, 2004, looking for her mother.

The mother had reportedly been witness to the rape and shooting of her teenage niece by army personnel, who accused that girl of involvement with Maoist rebels.

When the soldiers could not find the mother, they took Maina Sunuwar instead.

At first, the military denied holding her, but they now admit she died while detained in detention.

She was held in custody in a barracks at Kavrepalanchok, north-east of the capital, Kathmandu, last year.

The authorities said the officers did not order a post-mortem or inform their superiors or the victim's family about the girl's death.

'Not transparent'

One prominent human rights lawyer in Kathmandu has described the sentences as a joke.

Mandira Sharma, of the Advocacy Forum, said that as the case involved a civilian's death it should never have been tried in a military court.

A respected human rights group, INSEC, said it was good there had been punishments, but the sentences were too light and the trials not transparent.

Earlier this month, concluding a visit to Nepal, a senior UN official accused both the security forces and the Maoists of routinely using torture.

Extra judicial killings, disappearances and the victimisation of children have featured widely in Nepal's long-running civil war.

The army says it has taken action against more than 100 soldiers for committing excesses over the past three years of operations against Maoist rebels.

Most of them had been jailed, dismissed or demoted, it said.

Army officials say they are committed to respecting human rights and to punishing those found guilty of abuses.