A reporter with "Nagarik" daily in Kathmandu, Nepal, has been receiving death threats following a story on alleged mistreatment at a protection center.
KP Dhungana, a reporter with the Nagarik daily published from the capital city, Kathmandu, has been receiving a flurry of death threats following a news report he published in the daily.
Talking to Freedom Forum’s media monitoring desk, reporter Dhungana said, “Nearly 200 phone calls and messages threatening me with death have caused me to panic. [this began] after I published a news story relating to a protection centre run by a woman in the capital city on February 27, 2014. My story was about the mistreatment of elderly women, the children’s unhygienic condition and lack of transparency at the protection centre.
According to Dhungana, many threats came from the indigenous Nepali people from inside the country, as well as abroad. The reporter was threatened with comments such as, “Can’t you tolerate the progress of an indigenous person, a woman? You will see how we finish you off now.”
Freedom Forum vehemently condemns the threat as it has badly terrified the journalist and violated his right to free reporting. If the persons issuing the death threats against him had any complaint over the content of the news report, they could have approached the Press Council Nepal to seek action. However, issuing a death threat merely because of a news story is a violation of press freedom.
Therefore, FF strongly urges the security agencies to provide ample security to the reporter and reminds the persons issuing the threats that they need to respect journalists’ rights and adhere to democratic practice.
