Nepal

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – A person identifying himself as Shobhit Banset recently threatened two journalists associated with Kamana Publications Group Pvt. Ltd. Banset made repeated threatening telephone calls to Tanka Panta and Dipak Rijal on 20 September 2002. He claimed to be associated with the underground Communist Party of Nepal (CPN, Maoist party), and threatened to “physically […]

(IPI/IFEX) – The following is an 11 September 2002 IPI press release: Prime Minister tells IPI: No Re-imposition of State of Emergency in Nepal The Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba, today gave a commitment to an IPI Press Freedom Delegation that “the Government of Nepal has no intention to re-impose a nationwide […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES welcomes the government’s public announcement of the whereabouts of 16 journalists. To date, there are more than 33 journalists still in police custody and in various jails. CEHURDES asks, therefore, that the government announce the whereabouts of the remaining journalists. Nine months after the state of emergency was imposed, the news is […]

(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) – The government and Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) held talks on 22 August 2002 regarding the demands put forward by the FNJ. During the meeting, Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka assured the FNJ that the government planned to make public details of the situation of 22 journalists who are presently behind bars, in […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – The following is a 22 August 2002 CEHURDES press statement: The Center for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES) condemns the brutal murder of Nava Raj Sharma, editor of “Kadam” weekly, published in the remote northern district of Kalikot. Maoist insurgents abducted Sharma on June 1, 2002 at Syuna VDC, in the district. […]

(RSF/IFEX) – On 21 August 2002, RSF voiced its outrage over the brutal murder by Maoist rebels of journalist Nawaraj Sharma “Basant”, editor of “Karnali Sandesh”, an independent publication in western Nepal. The organisation called on the Maoist insurrection’s political and military leaders to immediately halt all violence against journalists. RSF also urged the authorities […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – According to the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), the authorities arrested at least 36 journalists on 9 August 2002. The journalists were protesting the arrests and abduction of journalists in different regions of the country. The FNJ further stated that the local administration in Chitwan detained 22 journalists who were taking part in […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 6 August 2002 at 11:00 a.m. (local time), security forces arrested journalist Hari Prasad Regmi, in Kalanki, Kathmandu. Regmi is a reporter for the weeklies “Sanghu” and “Jana Bhabana”. After 54 hours in detention, he was released under his wife’s supervision. According to “Sanghu” sources, Regmi was held at the Balaju Army […]

(CPJ/IFEX) – In a 6 August 2002 letter to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPJ condemned the recent detention of Kishor Shrestha, editor of the Nepali-language weekly newspaper “Jana Aastha”. Although police claimed the detention was because of a 31 July article, CPJ believes that Shrestha’s arrest may have been intended to silence his newspaper’s […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 4 August 2002, the police arrested Kishor Shrestha, editor of the weekly “Jana Astha”, and Bishnu Ghimire, editor of the weekly “Jana Prahar”. They were charged with publishing “malicious and defamatory news reports” and released 24 hours later. Police sources said that Shrestha was released from the Hanumandhoka Police Station in Kathmandu […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 1 August 2002, Communist Party of Nepal (CPN, Maoist) rebels abducted Dhan Bahadur Rokka Magar from a bus, while he was traveling in Jaluke, a place which borders the Rolpa and Pyuthan districts in mid-western Nepal. Magar is a news reader in the Kham Magar language and works in the Surkhet station […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 19 July 2002, plainclothes security officers arrested pro-Maoist journalist Dhana Bahadur Gurung, secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists’ (FNJ) Kathmandu Section, at his office in Dilli Bazar. Gurung was working as a photojournalist and reporter for the pro-Maoist weekly “Janadesh” before its closure and is also an FNJ Council member. Gurung’s […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – On 11 July 2002, police in the Indian capital of New Delhi took four Nepalese citizens into custody, including three journalists, on charges of assisting Maoist rebels. According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report, those arrested include journalists working for “Nepali Awaj” (“Voice of the Nepalese”) newspaper, which is published in New Delhi. […]

(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES has raised its serious concern over the Nepalese government’s recently formed “Probe Committee” to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged “disappearance” of journalist Krishna Sen, under the direction of Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Secretary Sushil Jung Bahadur Rana. CEHURDES does not believe that the commission, under its current structure, will be […]

(RSF/IFEX) – Because the Nepalese government has refused to acknowledge its appeals, and the protests made by various human rights organisations, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) has announced the launch of a two-week long protest campaign, which was to begin on 4 July 2002. The FNJ has sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Sher […]