(FNJ/IFEX) – On 18 August 2006, a group of Maoists detained ten journalists, including FNJ-Parsa Chapter President Shatrughan Nepal, and other individuals, among them the chief district officer (CDO) for Bara district and half a dozen security officials, for three hours. The group was taken under detention in the Tawoli area of Laxmipur village, 18 […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – On 18 August 2006, a group of Maoists detained ten journalists, including FNJ-Parsa Chapter President Shatrughan Nepal, and other individuals, among them the chief district officer (CDO) for Bara district and half a dozen security officials, for three hours.
The group was taken under detention in the Tawoli area of Laxmipur village, 18 kilometers south-east of the district headquarter of Kalaiya, at around 2 p.m. (local time). The journalists and officials had gone there to inspect a dam being constructed over the local Jamun River.
The other journalists detained were Sujit Mahat of “Kantipur National Daily”, Pankaj Shreshta of Kantipur Television, Ram Sharraf of “Annapurna Post”, Vijaya Chauhan of “Ankush Daily”, Jitendra Shah of Image Channel, Resham Tiwari of Nepal Television, photojournalist Ram Chettri, Sanjay Shah of “Jana Pratibimb” and Anil Tiwari of Radio Birgunj.
According to Shatrughan Nepal, the Maoists also beat Sharraf and seized his camera and satchel. They returned his camera after one hour; however, his satchel has not been returned thus far.
FNJ strongly condemns the incident and urges the Maoists to respect freedom of the press and expression. The continuous violation of press freedom and of the ceasefire code of conduct is unfortunate and unacceptable. The FNJ urges the Maoists to fulfill their commitment to uphold press freedom and fundamental human rights.