August 08, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 23, 1428

KATHMANDU: Two female soldiers in Nepal said they had been kicked out of the army after being found in bed together and accused of a sexual relationship, the Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday.

The army however said the pair were court-martialled on disciplinary grounds and not for their sexual preferences.

The newspaper said the women, a physical training instructor and a trainer second lieutenant, were dismissed on July 17 after two months' detention.

They told the English-language daily they had been caught together in bed and were accused of “maintaining a sexual relationship.” The women said they denied the charges and were just reading a book in the same bed.

“We dismissed the two women from the job as they failed to maintain even the minimum disciplinary standards,” army spokesman Brigadier-General Ramindra Chhetri said.

“Their discharge from the service is not based on sexual discrimination,” he said.

Although homosexuality is not a specific crime under Nepali law, “unnatural sex acts” can be punished by up to a year in prison.—AFP