Sawt Falasteen - Nepal's ex-PM attends court hearing in protest crackdown case

Oli, 74, and ex-home minister Ramesh Lekhak were arrested in pre-dawn raids on Saturday, a day after Prime Minister Balendra Shah was sworn in following the first elections since the September uprising.

They were arrested over their alleged involvement in the protest crackdown that killed at least 76 people, though neither man has been charged, and both deny responsibility for the violence.

Hearings took place Sunday on whether to extend their detention during investigations, Kathmandu District Court information officer Deepak Kumar Shrestha told AFP, saying that Oli appeared remotely, while Lekhak was in court.

The Supreme Court is due on Monday to consider a petition for Oli's release, court spokesman Arjun Prasad Koirala said.

Police said Oli has heart and kidney issues. AFP reporters saw him being taken to a hospital on Saturday after his arrest, surrounded by a heavy police guard.

The arrests of Oli and Lekhak came after an inquiry commission recommended that the four-time ex-prime minister and other officials be prosecuted for failing to stop security forces from firing on demonstrators.

The report says that statements given to the commission by Oli and Lekhak suggesting they did not know about the violence were part of a bid to shift responsibility and amounted to "criminal negligence".

It recommends that they be investigated under a law that deals with death caused by recklessness.

Ex-energy minister Deepak Khadka was also detained on Sunday "in a case relating to money laundering", Central Investigation Bureau spokesman Shiva Kumar Shrestha said.

- 'Beginning of justice' -

The unrest in early September began over a brief social media ban, but tapped into longstanding fury over economic hardship.

It spread nationwide the following day as parliament and government offices were set ablaze, resulting in the collapse of Oli's government.

Oli's CPN-UML Marxist party has called the arrests "a revengeful act" and has called for protests.

Police barricaded roads on Sunday and used batons to drive back more than 100 of Oli's supporters near the court in the capital Kathmandu, an AFP photographer saw.

Supporters said they had submitted a letter demanding his release.

"The prime minister has made a hasty decision that could push the country towards confrontation," said Tejila Thapa, 44, a supporter of Oli.

"This is a wrong decision, and it must be corrected."

Home Minister Sudan Gurung has said Oli's and Lekhak's arrests were "not revenge against anyone, just the beginning of justice".

Shah, a 35-year-old rapper-turned-politician, and his Rastriya Swatantra Party swept to power on a platform of youth-driven political change.

He challenged and defeated Oli in his own constituency.

Shah's government has unveiled an ambitious 100-point reform agenda including investigations into the assets of politicians and high-ranking officials.

Before the uprising, Nepal ranked 107th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

The World Bank says a "staggering" 82 percent of Nepal's workforce is in informal employment, with GDP per capita at just $1,447 in 2024.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST