France arrests Gajurel's daughter, refuses asylum

KATHMANDU, Aug 1: The daughter of top Maoist leader CP Gajurel has been arrested in France for traveling without documents while seeking asylum from the French government. Shova Gajurel, whose father is in charge of the international affairs of the Unified CPN (Maoist), is being held at the Lesquin Administrative Retention Centre in Lille town in northern France where foreigners found guilty of violating immigration laws are detained.

• France deports Gajurel´s daughter to Belgium [break]

Shova was traveling to the France-Belgium border to meet friends when she was arrested last week near Valenciennes, a commune in northern France.



Shova, a member of the Maoist party, had applied for asylum in France but her application was turned down. She had re-applied, saying her life would be in danger if she returned to Nepal.



It was not clear immediately why she feels her life is endangered in Nepal since the Maoists are no longer a banned organization. Both her parents and children are still living in Nepal.



Maoist sympathizers in France are urging the Sarkozy government to grant Shova asylum, saying that since the fall of the Maoist government in May, the situation has become tense in Nepal.



Shova’s father CP Gajurel was not available for comments.



Gajurel was caught in India’s Chennai Airport during the insurgency while trying to fly out to Germany on forged documents. He was jailed for three years and freed after the signing of the peace pact in 2006.



(Courtesy: IANS)

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