(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES is deeply shocked and wishes to express its serious concern over the reported arrest and torture of journalist Bijaya Raj Acharya. According to his wife Pushpa Acharya, her husband was arrested by security personnel on 9 January 2002. He was severely tortured while in custody during the first three to four days. […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES is deeply shocked and wishes to express its serious concern over the reported arrest and torture of journalist Bijaya Raj Acharya.
According to his wife Pushpa Acharya, her husband was arrested by security personnel on 9 January 2002. He was severely tortured while in custody during the first three to four days. The investigating officers then admitted that they had rounded him up on the basis of incorrect information. They then sent him to the Kathmandu District Police Office, where he was put under preventive detention. He is still detained at Hanumandhoka. No case has been filed against him.
Acharya’s wife stated that Srijanshil Prakashan, a private publishing house run by her husband, publishes children’s books and pro-leftist literature. Acharya’s publications include the “Collected Works of Mao”, which are openly available on the market. Police suspected that the journalist was involved in the secret publication of the weekly “Janadesh” during the state of emergency. The weekly is believed to be the mouthpiece of the underground Maoist party.
Acharya’s wife, who helped her husband in running the office, denied the accusation, stating that, “We no longer have any publishing job at hand.” She said that she has been allowed to visit her husband at the police cell and added her husband fears he will be sentenced to jail.
Further to the 26 November 2001 state of emergency declaration, more than twenty journalists remain in detention. There have been no reports of official charges or cases filed against them.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– expressing your concern over the ongoing government harassment of the press and the campaign to restrict press freedom and freedom of expression
– asking them to ensure that all arrested journalists who are currently in detention without any official charge receive a fair trial
– calling for a free and fair news reporting environment that is respectful of journalists’ basic freedoms and human rights principles guaranteed by international instruments
– reminding them that Acharya’s arrest and torture is a clear breach of his fundamental human rights, as guaranteed by Articles 5 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
– requesting that they ensure Acharya and all those detained in Nepal’s jails for exercising their right to freedom of expression are immediately released from prison
– urging them to give journalists and human rights activists free access to affected areas so that they can issue impartial reports
Appeals To
Right Honourable Sher Bahadur Deuba
Prime Minister
Kathmandu, Nepal
c/o Permanent Representative to United Nations
Fax: +977 1 227286
E-mail: nepal@un.int
Hon. Khum Bahadur Khadka
Minister for Home Affairs
Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: +977 1 225156
Hon. Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta
Minister for Information and Communication
Singh Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: +977 1 221729
Pradip Shumsher JB Rana
Inspector General of Police
Police Headquarters
Naxal, Kathmandu, Nepal
Fax: +977 1 415593
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
