The hearing of Col Kumar Lama, who has been detained by authorities in the UK on charges of extrajudicial detention and torture in Nepal, is scheduled to be held this week at the court of appeal in London.

The hearing will debate whether the UK should follow the provisions on Convention against Torture (CAT), whether a sovereign nation should recognise the verdict given by the court of another sovereign nation, and whether Lama could be released on the provisions of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of UN.

According to a source, as Lama’s case is unique in the world, the court verdict will set precedence in such cases. If Lama loses this case, some fear that any Nepali politician and high-level official accused of torture during the conflict can be arrested anywhere in the world.

Lama was arrested on 3 January 2013 while he was the UK on vacation. He was working as a UN expert in South Sudan at the time. Accused of torturing two persons while under detention during the Maoist insurgency period, he has been charged under the British Domestic Law (Criminal Justice Act 1988 (134).

The government of Nepal has remained silent on the issue. If the Nepali government sends a letter demanding immunity under the ‘political domain’, Lama could be set free, a source said. “If India can force the US to release one of its diplomats (Devyani), Nepal can do the same for Col Lama.”

While on a visit to the UK in early January, Arjun Bahadur Thapa, secretary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had said  a person cannot be tried twice for the same crime on principle of double jeopardy. Thapa had also talked to the British authorities about the violation of the CAT treaty and the provision of UN immunity.

Lama’s case has run into difficulty after the Nepal government could not fully pay the   the solicitor’s fee.  The legal firm is looking for a legal aid barrister to defend Lama in the court.