(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 19 July 2002, plainclothes security officers arrested pro-Maoist journalist Dhana Bahadur Gurung, secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists’ (FNJ) Kathmandu Section, at his office in Dilli Bazar. Gurung was working as a photojournalist and reporter for the pro-Maoist weekly “Janadesh” before its closure and is also an FNJ Council member. Gurung’s […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 19 July 2002, plainclothes security officers arrested pro-Maoist journalist Dhana Bahadur Gurung, secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists’ (FNJ) Kathmandu Section, at his office in Dilli Bazar. Gurung was working as a photojournalist and reporter for the pro-Maoist weekly “Janadesh” before its closure and is also an FNJ Council member. Gurung’s current whereabouts is unknown.
Background Information
Further to the imposition of a state of emergency in Nepal on 26 November 2001, more than 100 journalists have been arrested in different parts of the country. More than two dozen journalists remain in detention. Some journalists have reportedly been tortured, both physically and psychologically. Several detainees’ whereabouts is unknown. There have been no reports of official charges filed against any of the arrested journalists.