Amnesty International is very concerned for the safety of the four human rights defenders named above. They are all members of the Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC), one of the leading human rights organizations in Nepal. They have been harassed and threatened by members of the police and the army in connection to their human rights work.

On the afternoon of 11 January, plain-clothed policemen visited the national office of INSEC at Kalanki, Kathmandu. They urged Subodh Pyakurel, General Secretary of the organization, to come with them to the "security office". When he asked them to identify themselves, they refused and tried to drag him away from the office. They were only prevented from taking him by the intervention of other human rights defenders. The police officers eventually left the office, but there remains concern for the safety of Subodh Pyakurel.

That same evening, the army reportedly entered INSEC offices in Nepalgunj and threatened Bhola Mahat, the regional coordinator of the organization. They reportedly searched the office and it is currently not known whether Bhola Mahat was arrested.

Bishnu Raj Pokhrel, an INSEC representative in Sankhuwasabha district, was arrested by the police on 8 January. His arrest is thought to be connected to photographs he had taken of four people who had been tortured in army custody. At the time of his arrest, the police took his camera and destroyed the film. They also beat him up as they took him to the police station in Khandbari.

On 4 December 2001, Kush Raj Shahi, an INSEC representative in Kalikot district, was threatened by police when he went to the district police office to ask for information about several people who he feared had "disappeared" after they were taken into custody. The deputy superintendent of police reportedly told him "you may be killed if you do this work" and "maybe tomorrow you will 'disappear'".