Tek Nath Rizal ( ne, टेकनाथ रिजाल) (also spelled Rijal) is one of the top leaders of Bhutanese refugees, and a political and human rights activist in

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. Rizal has struggled for the sake of about 100,000 Bhutani refugees who lived for a long time in camps in Nepal. Rizal was imprisoned by the government of Bhutan from 1989 to 1999 at the Chamgang jail. He had been arrested by Nepalese authorities in Nepal where he had escaped to after protesting against the Bhutanese government's approach to the Bhutanese refugee problem. According to

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

, he was a prisoner of conscience, held by Bhutan "for the peaceful expression of his political beliefs, in particular his campaign against government policies unfairly affecting members of the Nepali-speaking community in southern Bhutan."

"Amnesty International welcomes release of prisoner of conscience"
press release, 1999-12-21, accessed 2009-01-16. He was sentenced in 1993 to life imprisonment. Amnesty International and

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

considered him as a political prisoner and could win his release from jail.Tek Nath Rizal
/ref> The Bhutanese government has accused Tek Nath Rizal of abusing his position as an elected Royal Advisory Councillor by providing false feedback from the people he represented to the King, and then blaming the government and King for the policies formulated based on his advice. The rift between the people in the south of Bhutan and the government has at least in small part been blamed on his actions. After his sentencing, the

King of Bhutan The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk ...

Jigme Singye Wangchuck Jigme Singye Wangchuck ( dz, འཇིགས་མེད་སེང་གེ་དབང་ཕྱུག་, ; born 11 November 1955) is a member of the House of Wangchuck who was the king of Bhutan (Druk Gyalpo) from 1972 until his abdicati ...

, pardoned Rizal on condition that Bhutan and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

be able to resolve the issue over the Bhutanese refugees in Nepal."Tek Nath Rijal"
''

Nepali Times ''Nepali Times'' (stylized as NEPALI Times) is an English weekly newspaper that provides reporting and commentary on Nepali politics, business, culture, travel and society in 16 pages. The weekly is aimed at the expatriate, diplomatic and busine ...

'', 2003-05-01, accessed 2009-01-16. The issue was not resolved, but Rizal was released from prison during an amnesty granted by the king in December 1999. Rizal attributed his release to the efforts of activists from around the world who pressed for his release. Tek Nath Rizal was released by the government unconditionally and he has since settled in Nepal.

Publications

Torture Killing Me Softly

From Palace to Prison

External links

Tek Nath Rizal's personal web site

Notes

Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Bhutan Bhutanese human rights activists Bhutanese emigrants to Nepal Bhutan Peoples' Party politicians Bhutanese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Bhutan Living people Bhutanese people of Nepalese descent Recipients of Bhutanese royal pardons 1948 births {{Bhutan-politician-stub