(FNJ/IFEX) – Krishna Lama, a correspondent of “Taja Khabar Weekly”, was abducted from Samakhushi Chowk by Maoist cadres in Kathmandu on 4 January 2007 at 7:30 p.m. (local time) and later released around midnight the same day in Ratnapark. Lama said Maoist cadres threatened him with a pistol and then transported him forcibly to an […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – Krishna Lama, a correspondent of “Taja Khabar Weekly”, was abducted from Samakhushi Chowk by Maoist cadres in Kathmandu on 4 January 2007 at 7:30 p.m. (local time) and later released around midnight the same day in Ratnapark.
Lama said Maoist cadres threatened him with a pistol and then transported him forcibly to an unidentified place where they questioned him about a news report implicating Maoist cadres’ involvement in bargaining for a tender.
Lama’s abductors hit him on the head, fractured two fingers on his right hand and seized his mobile phone.
Upon his release, Lama sought medical treatment at the Bir Hospital.
On 5 January, Lama and his editor Maan Bahadur Neupane went to the Maoist contact centre in Kathmandu to confront them about the abduction. They claimed that the centre has confirmed the abductors were Maoist cadres.
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has condemned the incident and asked for immediate action to be taken against those behind the abduction. It also said the act was a severe violation of freedom of expression and the Maoists’ expressed commitment to upholding this right. FNJ also expressed serious concern about the targeting of media by Maoist cadres and calls the attention of all concerned to attend to the protection and promotion of press freedom and safety and security of journalists.