(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 13 November 2003, the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) arrested and detained journalist Sharad Adhikari in Ghorahi, Dang district (western Nepal). RNA personnel arrested Adhikari at about 8:30 a.m. (local time) at his Ghorahi residence. He was blindfolded and taken away in a white Jeep, which was parked about 500 metres from his […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 13 November 2003, the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) arrested and detained journalist Sharad Adhikari in Ghorahi, Dang district (western Nepal). RNA personnel arrested Adhikari at about 8:30 a.m. (local time) at his Ghorahi residence. He was blindfolded and taken away in a white Jeep, which was parked about 500 metres from his home.
The journalist was kept in a dark room and beaten up by Lt. Col. Ramsharan Karki and Maj. Ram Prasad Adhikari. He was released after spending several hours in detention, following the intervention of Sushil Gautam, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists’ (FNJ) Dang district president.
Adhikari works for the Kathmandu-based daily “Spacetime” and weekly “Janaastha” and has been working in journalism for the past eight years.
CEHURDES’s sources said Adhikari was detained and tortured for writing news reports about the killing of peasant Lotan Chaudhari. His reports were published in the 12 November issues of both newspapers. On 7 November, Chaudhari was shot dead by the RNA in Tribhuvan municipality, in the Masina area of Dang district, while he was working in a corn field.
CEHURDES condemns the detention of and assault on Adhikari. The organisation urges the security forces to stop harassing journalists and free expression activists and calls on the authorities to respect minimum norms of press freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and the fundamental human rights of citizens.
