A journalist was attacked by hotel owners over his reports on the sale and distribution of liquor in western Nepal.
Kali Bahadur Malla, a journalist working in Kalikot, a remote mid western district, was attacked by local hotel owners over his reporting on the sale and distribution of liquor in the district headquarters.
A hotelier woman named Tika Sahi called Malla to her hotel and then attacked him with homemade weapons. One of the hotel owner’s relatives reportedly helped her assault the journalist.
The women said that through his reporting, Malla had called on the local administration to ban the sale of liquor. The journalist was seriously injured in the attack.
The incident is indicative of the dangers faced by journalists who report on matters of social significance.
The assailants have been arrested and the district police are pursuing the case.
Journalist assaulted in Jhapa
In a separate incident, a woman journalist Rejina Rodan from Jhapa, in easternmost Nepal, was attacked and seriously injured on the evening of 19 October 2014.
Rodan, an editor at the local weekly Janaandolan, was attacked by a group of the hooligans even though her journalist identity card was displayed.
According to a Nepal Television reporter, Bhim Nembang, it is yet to be ascertained if the incident was linked to press freedom.
He added that the police have arrested three of the attackers.
Freedom Forum condemns both incidents, as these have violated press freedom. The rights of journalists, who are protectors of freedom of expression, and providing information to the public, to free reporting is violated, and fear spread. The prompt action of the police to apprehend the culprits is appreciative, as it helps curb impunity.
