In a significant ruling that underscores the strength and compassion of its legal system, Nepal’s Supreme Court today granted full protection to four former Bhutanese refugees who were deported from the United States and had been detained. Bhutan’s TSA-WA-SUM law, a harsh and punitive law, would have subjected them to death sentences or lifelong imprisonment but Bhutan opted to expel them, stripping them of their legal documents and leaving them stateless and vulnerable in India, where they had no legal rights or protection. The United States had placed Bhutan on a visa ban red list, and by accepting these refugees, Bhutan successfully managed to have the visa restriction downgraded to the yellow list, easing diplomatic tensions.