A person representing a financial institution warned editor Krishna Gautam to only write positive stories about the institution or face the consequences.
(Freedom Forum/IFEX) – Freedom Forum’s attention has been drawn to an incident that occurred at Tehrathum, a hilly district in far eastern Nepal, on July 10, 2011.
A person calling himself a shareholder of a financial institution, Commerce and Trust, called the chief editor and publisher of the local “Nawabihani” daily, Krishna Gautam, over the phone and asked him over the phone why he did not write “good news” about the institution.
Talking to Freedom Forum’s media monitoring desk, Gautam said the person who refused to identify himself warned him to write only positive stories about the Commerce and Trust, otherwise he would face negative consequences. Gautam explained that he wrote some articles comparing the status of various financial institutions in the district.
Freedom Forum is concerned over this intimidation which it sees as a violation of press freedom. The concerned authorities are urged to help create an atmosphere conducive for journalists to carry out their work.
