Police in Nepal used lethal force to suppress youth protests on September 8, 2025, that killed at least 19 people and injured over 300, Human Rights Watch said today.
Young people, identifying themselves as "Gen Z," organized a protest movement after the government announced a widespread ban on social media on September 4. Many also expressed anger about pervasive political corruption and nepotism in government. The government has lifted the ban, but Nepali authorities should promptly and impartially investigate the police use of force and appropriately discipline or prosecute all those responsible for abuses, regardless of rank.
"The police shooting of demonstrators in Kathmandu and across Nepal shows the administration's appalling disregard for the lives of its own citizens and desperate need to suppress criticism," said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities need to hold those responsible for these killings to account instead of upholding the culture of impunity that has allowed the security forces to get away with murder."
Sahana Vajracharya, a journalist, told Human Rights Watch that in Kathmandu she saw "a sea" of protesters, many in school uniforms, march toward parliament around 11 a.m. on September 8. She said police used water cannons and tear gas as the marchers pressed against barricades, and fired live ammunition after people climbed on the wall outside parliament.
A credible security source said that there were "orders from above" to respond aggressively to the protests, though Human Rights Watch could not corroborate this. In Kathmandu, police used tear gas, water cannons, and live ammunition against crowds largely consisting of young people and children. Police also opened fire in Itahari in southeast Nepal, where two people were reported killed, and in other cities. They also used tear gas at Civil Hospital in Kathmandu, where some of the injured were taken.
"I witnessed the protest and the crackdown," one man said. "Security forces fired directly at students. Several were injured and some were killed."
Following the violence, the authorities declared a curfew in some areas to prevent large gatherings. The home minister, Ramesh Lekakh, resigned, and there were calls from members of coalition parties to leave the government. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli said that he was "saddened" by the violence but blamed "vested interest groups."
The government's social media ban appeared to have little effect, Human Rights Watch said. Graphic footage that appears to show police shooting peaceful protesters, some in school or college uniforms, quickly circulated online. Some protesters were struck by bullets to the head.
Discontent in Nepal, among young people in particular, appears to have been building for some time against corruption and nepotism by the political elite. The protests gained momentum after the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology issued a sweeping directive on September 4 to ban 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, WhatsApp, X, and YouTube, saying that they had failed to register with the authorities by a deadline on September 3. The government said that social media registration was necessary for tax and regulatory purposes, although critics accused the government of censorship.
The government has a record of silencing online speech in violation of the right to freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. Other proposed legislation could curtail free expression online, and the authorities have sought to prosecute journalists over online content. In June, the police sought to arrest a journalist who used social media to make allegations about a political family's business dealings. The government should not arbitrarily curtail the rights to freedom of expression, to seek information, or other rights online, Human Rights Watch said.
The Nepali police have a history of using unnecessary lethal force against protesters. In the past, the government has typically announced an opaque official inquiry and offered financial compensation to victims' families, but has taken only modest "departmental action" against security personnel responsible for using excessive force against protesters.
An investigation was ordered into the police use of lethal force against demonstrators in the southern Madhesh region in 2015 that resulted in the deaths of about 50 civilians and 9 police officers during weeks of protests against a new constitution. The official report into those events was never published and no police officers faced accountability for the shootings.
The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms prohibit the use of firearms except in cases of imminent threat of death or serious injury. Appropriate warnings are to be given when firearms are discharged.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Nepal is party, has stated that "Firearms are not an appropriate tool for the policing of assemblies, and must never be used simply to disperse an assembly.… [A]ny use of firearms by law enforcement officials in the context of assemblies must be limited to targeted individuals in circumstances in which it is strictly necessary to confront an imminent threat of death or serious injury."
The Basic Principles also provide that in cases of death and serious injury, "a detailed report shall be sent promptly to the competent authorities responsible for administrative review and judicial control."
Nepal is the largest contributing nation to UN peacekeeping operations, providing personnel from the Nepal military and police. UN Peacekeeping should make clear that no officers or units implicated in abuses on September 8 will be eligible for future peacekeeping missions, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Nepali government has time and again demonstrated that it is unwilling to seriously investigate, yet alone, prosecute members of its security forces responsible for serious abuses," Ganguly said. "Unless the government takes serious action in response to the September 8 killings, UN Peacekeeping should start to reassess its relationship with Nepal."
