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Nepal police fire on protesting lawyers(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)At least 20 lawyers were wounded Thursday in Kathmandu as Nepalese police opened fire on their anti-monarchy protest rally. Four lawyers were said to have been shot, while others sustained injuries when police charged the rally with batons, Nepal's Himalayan Times reported. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd and arrested at least 70 lawyers, including the president and general secretary of the Nepal Bar Association. The protest took place outside the bar association's office near ministerial buildings in the capital. About 200 lawyers carrying banners and shouting anti-government slogans entered the streets. Hundreds of lawyers, journalists and other professionals have been arrested over the past week, in addition to opposition activists, for defying a government ban on protests. Four protesters have lost their lives in the violence during the weeklong demonstrations against King Gyanendra, who seized power in 2005. The U.N. human rights office in Kathmandu has accused the police of excessive violence against the protesters. The U.S. State Department has urged the king to start dialogue with the seven-party opposition alliance and to restore democracy immediately. |