(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES is shocked and condemns the ongoing interference by security forces, which prevents journalists and media workers from reporting on the news freely and fairly, in the name of implementing the “state of emergency” mandate. On 29 January 2002, plainclothes security personnel arrested Kishor Shreshtha, editor of “Jana Aastha Weekly”. He was kept […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES is shocked and condemns the ongoing interference by security forces, which prevents journalists and media workers from reporting on the news freely and fairly, in the name of implementing the “state of emergency” mandate.
On 29 January 2002, plainclothes security personnel arrested Kishor Shreshtha, editor of “Jana Aastha Weekly”. He was kept in custody for approximately twenty-four hours and was psychologically tortured, in contravention of media workers’ right to freely and fairly report on the news. Security forces released Shreshtha at about 8:00 p.m. (local time) on 30 January.
Since a “state of emergency” was declared in Nepal, security forces have arrested eighty-three journalists from around the country. Of these, 63 have been released and 20 are still in custody or preventive detention. Several others have been harassed or have had to overcome obstacles and attempts to impede media freedom while reporting on the news (see IFEX alerts of 25, 17, 11, 7 and 3 January 2002, 28, 20, 19 and 4 December and 30 November 2001).
CEHURDES urges the concerned authorities to ensure that the arrested journalists face a fair trial and that all journalists have free access to affected areas so that they can issue impartial reports. CEHURDES calls for a free and fair news reporting environment, that is respectful of journalists’ basic freedoms and human rights principles guaranteed by international instruments.
