KATHMANDU, April 14: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) has decided to deport and sanction a two-year ban on entry for US citizen Julian Kirpal, 58, who was arrested from the capital on March 27 for his pro-monarchy demonstrations.
According to Joint Secretary Ram Chandra Tiwari at the MoHA, the ministry decided to deport Kirpal for his anti-state crime as a foreigner.
“Our immigration laws dictate that a foreigner must respect and comply with our laws, rules and regulations, including respecting public order and refraining from illegal activities,” Tiwari told Republica, “The state has the right to abort a foreigner if their presence in Nepal is deemed to be contrary to national interest.”
Clause 14(2) of the Immigration Act 2049 BS states that if the government believes that the entry, presence, or departure of any foreign national within the territory of Nepal may be contrary to the national interest, it [the government] may prohibit such entry, presence, or departure.
122 Chinese nationals being deported today
Kirpal was detained from the Maitighar area on March 27 after he disturbed public order by chanting slogans in support of the former king. The 58-year-old American national has been taken into custody at the Singha Durbar Circle.
At the time of his arrest, police had found a photo of his passport on his mobile phone. Spokesperson for the District Police Range, Kathmandu and Superintendent of Police (SP) Apil Raj Bohara, said that police initiated a preliminary investigation into the case before handing him over to the Department of Immigration (DoI) for further action.
Director at the DoI Tikram Dhakal informed Republica that the department had kept Kirpal under detention after receiving a detention order from the court. “He was questioned about his motive by investigation officers at the DoI,” Dhakal said.
Under clause 8(2) of the Immigration Act 2049 BS, a foreign national accused of involvement in criminal activities in Nepal may be questioned and, if there are reasonable grounds, may be released on date (parole), on bail or bond, or may be kept in custody for up to twenty-five days with the permission of the court.
Dhakal revealed that Kirpal confessed to having been influenced by his Nepali friends to stage a protest in Maitighar and was not aware of the consequences.
“Regardless of his awareness of the laws, he was found to have breached our immigration laws and was recommended to be deported with a two-year entry ban,” Dhakal told Republica, “The home ministry decided to sanction the deportation and the ban.”
As per Dhakal, Kirpal is supposed to book his own return ticket to the US and the DoI needs to confirm his travel plan before he is finally deported.
“We have no provision to bear the financial brunt of a deported foreign national’s travel back to his home country,” he said.
He added that Kirpal has already presented his ticket for a flight back to the US on Tuesday. However, the travel plan is yet to be confirmed by the DoI.
“If the presented travel plan is verified by the DoI, Kirpal will be deported on Tuesday and he will be banned from entering Nepal for the following two years,” Dhakal said.