(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 31 July 2005, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) summoned three journalists in the mid-western district of Dailekh in connection with a news item published in “The Kathmandu Post” on 20 July accusing the RNA of using minors as spies. RNA personnel summoned Kamal Neupane, a reporter for the “Nepal Samacharpatra” daily, and […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 31 July 2005, the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) summoned three journalists in the mid-western district of Dailekh in connection with a news item published in “The Kathmandu Post” on 20 July accusing the RNA of using minors as spies.
RNA personnel summoned Kamal Neupane, a reporter for the “Nepal Samacharpatra” daily, and Naman Kumar Shahi, a representative of INSEC (a human rights watchdog), to the RNA barracks at the district headquarters in Narayan municipality. The RNA officers released the two after taking their thumbprints on a copy of the published news report. This is the second time the army has summoned journalists regarding the same story.
Earlier, the army had interrogated “Kathmandu Post” reporter Harihar Singh Rathore, along with Neupane, Shahi and a reporter for the “Annapurna Post” daily, Pushkar Thapa, and asked them to produce evidence of the news they had reported. The journalists refused to comply and instead gave written statements affirming the veracity of the news, according to “The Kathmandu Post”.
In a separate incident, security personnel arrested Ramakanta Gautam, a distributor for Kantipur Publications, in the western town of Pokhara on 30 August. Gautam was handed over to police the next day and later released, after spending nearly 18 hours in army detention. According to “The Kathmandu Post”, security personnel blindfolded and beat Gautam while he was in custody, accusing him of being a Maoist cadre. They also asked him about the whereabouts of the underground Maoist leaders.
According to Gautam, army personnel continued beating him severely even though he repeatedly told them he was a newspaper distributor, not a Maoist. They reportedly threatened to bury him in a ditch. Gautam later learned that he was being held at the RNA’s Phulbari barracks.
CEHURDES condemns both these incidents and urges the RNA not to harass journalists and media personnel on the basis of their reporting. CEHURDES further urges the RNA to conduct an investigation into both incidents and punish those responsible.
