(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 29 August 2002, Keshav Bhattarai, a reporter for the fortnightly publication “Ghatana Times” in Taplejung and a member of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), was imprisoned. According to local journalist Mana Mani Kafle, Bhattarai had been detained by police on 22 August. Bhattarai, aged 27, is an inhabitant of Dhungesanghu, in […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 29 August 2002, Keshav Bhattarai, a reporter for the fortnightly publication “Ghatana Times” in Taplejung and a member of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), was imprisoned. According to local journalist Mana Mani Kafle, Bhattarai had been detained by police on 22 August.
Bhattarai, aged 27, is an inhabitant of Dhungesanghu, in Taplejung (a remote and hilly district in eastern Nepal), and has worked as a journalist since 1994. Previously, he worked for “Fewa”, a fortnightly publication in Urlabari, Morang district, for some years. He also worked at the weekly “Saptakoshi” in Sunsari District and was a reporter for the daily “Naya Sadak” published in Kathmandu.
The reason for his arrest has not yet been disclosed but he is said to have been imprisoned under the 2001 Terrorism and Destructive Activities Act.
CEHURDES condemns the continued arrests of journalists and urges the authorities to provide a positive environment for impartial news reporting.
Background Information
Further to the imposition of a “state of emergency” in Nepal on 26 November 2001, more than 100 journalists have been arrested in different parts of the country. More than two dozen journalists remain in detention. Some journalists have reportedly been tortured, both physically and psychologically. Several detainees’ whereabouts are unknown. There have been no reports of official charges filed against any of the arrested journalists.
