There were fewer press freedom violations compared to 2021 but the number of affected journalists has increased.
This statement was originally published on freedomforum.org.np on 3 January 2023.
Freedom Forum released its annual media report 2022 on December 31, 2022. The report states that in total 45 incidents of press freedom violations occurred in Nepal, and 120 journalists were directly affected.
Compared to the previous year, the number of violations declined, but the number of affected journalists increased, which the report has noted is a worrying trend.
Among the total affected journalists, 109 were male and 11 were women journalists. The report further stated that there was little progress in addressing impunity as regards crimes against journalists, while the hostility meted out to journalists went abated. “The absence of FoE and press freedom friendly law and policy, interference in media by the constitutional body, increased cyber surveillance against media persons, and a flood of fake news were the major trends recorded,” the report stated, adding that the year, however, remained an election year and there was the successful conduct of elections at three tiers of government.
The press freedom violations were categorized as arrest/detention, attack/manhandling, obstruction/vandalism, threat to life, and misbehavior. The number of obstructions and vandalism combined stand at the highest, 56, which is followed by 28 incidents of attack/manhandling. Similarly, 18 journalists were affected with misbehavior, while 13 were threatened, and 5 faced arrests and detention combined.
As per province, the Bagmati Province had the highest number journalists affected, 44; this was followed by Madhes Province with 42. The Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces each had 11 journalists affected. During 2022, the least number of journalists affected were recorded in Province-1, as the region witnessed only two incidents of violations. Finally, the Karnali Province and Sudurpaschim Province had 7 and 3 journalists affected, respectively, the annual report revealed.
The report has also welcomed the Janakpurdham High Court’s verdict of life imprisonment for the individual convicted in connection with the murder of media entrepreneur Arun Singhaniya, as a positive update on a long pending case of impunity. The court issued the verdict on September 21, 2022. The High Court passed a sentence of life imprisonment for the suspended lawmaker and former Minister of State Sanjay Kumar Saha, who was declared to be the mastermind of the murder.
Executive Chief at Freedom Forum, Taranath Dahal, observed, “The case of journalists who were killed and disappeared during the time of conflict could be brought to the regular court(s) as a criminal offense, rather than the transitional justice mechanism, but this demand went unheard this year as well.”
The issues of information disorder with the spread of fake news and the need for digital capacity building are stressed by the report.
Dahal points out the need of political tolerance and CSOs’ activism to ensure that journalism is a safe profession and to create an environment for the exercise of safe free speech in society. “Political will and commitment can contribute to FoE-friendly media laws and a policy environment at the federal and provincial levels, as per the constitutional spirit and international standards,” he said, adding that a balanced approach of fair elections and a free press could make democracy functional and sustainable.
The full report can be downloaded here:
