Pawan Yadav said he had reported on CA Member Shiva Chandra Kushwaha's attempts to forcefully seize land in Bariyarpur.
(Freedom Forum/IFEX) – Freedom Forum is concerned over yet another death threat issued against journalist Pawan Yadav from Bara, a district in the Terai region, on March 10, 2011.
The Constituent Assembly (CA) Member of the UCPN-Maoist, elected from constituency no 2 in Bara district, Shiva Chandra Kushwaha has been repeatedly issuing the death threats via his aides.
The threats came after a news story by Yadav entitled “Protest against CA member” was published in the “Kantipur” daily.
Kushwaha’s bodyguard, Brij Kushwaha, and one of his relatives named Shyam threatened Yadav in a telephone call by saying, “You will be attacked and killed because you reported the news against CA Member Shiva Chandra Kushwaha.”
Yadav said he had reported on illegal actions by Kushwaha. According to the journalist, the CA member was trying to use force to seize land owned by 60-70 households in Bariyarpur VDC, Ward No 8, and register the land under his brother’s name. The panicked and irate locals had organized a protest rally against Kushwaha, Yadav explained.
Freedom Forum, as an organization advocating for freedom of press and opinion, condemns the actions against Yadav and urges the the UCPN-Maoist party, the largest political party in the country, to mend its ways so as to respect people’s right to information, and ensure freedom of press. Similarly, the local administration is strongly urged to provide security to journalists so they can exercise the free and fair practice of journalism.
