Published by: World Tibet Network News, Wednesday September 4 1996

KATMANDU, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Police repatriated 20 Tibetan refugees who recently fled their homeland over a mountain pass, police said Monday.

They were part of a group of 72 refugees who were arrested for illegal entry into Nepal. They were headed for India where their spiritual leader lives in self-exile, police said.

Police sent the remaining 52 refugees to the Nepali capital.

No reason was given for the return the 20 Tibetans.

Nepal either returns the fleeing refugees home or refers them to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, which processes their onward travel to India.

In the past, several Western governments have criticized Nepal for returning the refugees home.