Journalist tortured in custody, another manhandled by security guard
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – Journalist Nirmal Kumar Budhathoki has been facing serious mental health issues as a result of torture suffered while in military custody. Budhathoki, who reports for the daily “Janadisha”, and her husband, Muma Ram Khanal, were arrested by security forces in Sankhmul, Kathmandu, in May 2002 (see IFEX alert of 28 March 2003). Khanal, […]
Journalist assaulted by police officer
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 3 August 2003, Assistant Police Inspector Min Prasad Sigdel, of the district police office’s Crime Investigation Section, attempted to beat crime reporter Krishna Hari Ghimire. Ghimire, who works for the daily “Annapurna Post”, went to the police station to gather information on the killing of Amar Lama, former managing editor of “Taja […]
Journalists attacked and threatened
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 18 July 2003, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist) rebels threatened to kill journalist Kedar Katuwal for allegedly supplying information about the Beltar forest area to security forces. Katuwal is a representative of the state-run Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) news agency and vice-chairman of the Nepal Press Union, Udayapur section. In a separate […]
Editor killed
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 27 July 2003, at approximately 3:30 p.m. (local time), Amar Lama, managing editor of the weekly newspaper “Tajakhabar”, was killed by four unidentified gunmen. The incident occurred in Naya Bazar, Kritipur town (approximately 10 kilometres south of Kathmandu). Lama had recently assumed the position of managing editor for the newspaper. He was […]
Maoist rebels threaten journalist’s life
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES strongly condemns the Communist Party of Nepal’s (CPN-Maoist) treatment of journalists. CEHURDES also urges CPN-Maoist Chairman Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai, the rebels’ chief negotiator, to ensure journalists’ safety and freedom of movement in their strongholds. According to CEHURDES’ sources, CPN-Maoist cadres under the leadership of Sameer, associated with the All Nepal Farmer […]
Journalist prevented from covering meeting, two others threatened and manhandled
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 10 July 2003, officials from the communal organisation Agrwal Sewa Kendra prevented an unidentified reporter from the daily newspaper “Samacharpatra” from covering an event in Kamal Pokhari, Kathmandu. The incident followed the publication of a report in “Samacharpatra” about business leader Mohan Gopal Khetan and his Everest Insurance Company, which angered the […]
Journalist abducted
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 6 June 2003, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoists) rebels abducted journalist Padam Raj Poudel in Pokhara, Kaski district. Poudel is a reporter with the state-owned daily “Gorkhapatra” and a member of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists’ (FNJ) Kaski section. CEHURDES has condemned Poudel’s abduction and urged Maoist rebels to disclose his whereabouts […]
CEHURDES condemns the dismissal of two journalists
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES strongly condemns the government’s dismissal of two journalists affiliated with the state-owned Radio Nepal. CEHURDES urges the government to cease targeting journalists. On 22 May 2003, two Radio Nepal journalists, Uttam Hamal and Murari Prasad Sharma, were sacked by the government on the instruction of Information and Communications Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey. […]
Three journalists abducted by Maoist rebels but manage to escape
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 4 May 2003, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-Maoist) rebels abducted three journalists. Sarita Aryal, publisher and editor of the Nepalgunj-based monthly “Sukhi Sansar”, and Karuna Thapa and Kurma Raj Shahi, both reporters with the national daily “Nepal Samacharpatra”, were taken captive in remote Kalikot district (western Nepal). According to the daily “Kathmandu […]
Photojournalists assaulted by police
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 9 April 2003, police officers in Kathmandu verbally abused and attempted to beat photojournalists Prakash Mathema, Ravi Manandhar, Sagar Shrestha and Rajesh Gurung. The incident occurred in the Ratnapark/Ghantaghar area of the capital. The journalists were taking photographs of students affiliated with different political parties who were protesting over the killing of […]
Journalists assaulted, another harassed
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 29 March 2003, a dozen journalists were assaulted during an action by Nepal police officers at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC). The assaulted journalists included Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) Central Vice-President Gopal Budhathoki, Krishna Murari Bhandari and Rajesh K. C., of “Kantipur” daily, and journalists Shiva Ganule, Dharmendra Jha, Nawaraj […]
Journalist brutally beaten, another receives death threats
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 27 March 2003, a group of unknown assailants brutally beat journalist Bijaya Bisphot, editor and publisher of “Shram Bulletin Weekly”, at his office in New Baneswar, Kathmandu. According to the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), the assailants also looted two computers, a fax machine and other valuables from the office. In a […]
CEHURDES and RSF urge government and Maoists to release remaining imprisoned journalists
(CEHURDES/RSF/IFEX) – While welcoming the release of at least nine journalists in March 2003 alone, RSF and CEHURDES have called on both the government and Maoist rebel leaders to release all 12 journalists who are still being held in Nepal. “The negotiations have opened the way for the release of political prisoners, including journalists, and […]
Journalists released
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 21 March 2003, the authorities released journalists Maheswar Dahal, Ram Karki “Parth Chhetri”, Sangita Khadka and Binod Dahal. This followed a 21 March Supreme Court verdict. Maheswar Dahal and Chhetri, who are affiliated with “Nepali Aawaj” newspaper, published in New Delhi, were arrested in New Delhi on 11 July 2002 and detained […]
Journalist tortured while in detention, released
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 24 March 2003, the authorities released journalist Shiva Tiwari, executive editor of “Janadisha” daily, after 10 months’ detention. On the same day, the Supreme Court ordered Tiwari’s release for the third time. Tiwari was formerly associated with the “Hank” and “Mahima” weeklies. He was arrested on 20 May 2002 in Kathmandu along […]
Journalist released after 15 months in detention
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 13 March 2003, authorities released “Baglung Weekly” editor Badri Prasad Sharma. He had been detained for 15 months, along with a number of other local journalists. Sharma was arrested by security forces on 25 December 2001, after the imposition of a state of emergency in the country. He was detained in the […]