(FNJ/IFEX) – On 11 May 2006, police treated with undue force photojournalists Dhruba Kumar Rawal, Raju Mitra Khanal, and Raju Krishna Shrestha in Nuwakot, in the central district of Nepal. The incident took place while the three were reporting on an incident in which members of the Democratic Students’ Alliance (Loktantrik Bidhyarthi Yuva Morcha) were […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – On 11 May 2006, police treated with undue force photojournalists Dhruba Kumar Rawal, Raju Mitra Khanal, and Raju Krishna Shrestha in Nuwakot, in the central district of Nepal. The incident took place while the three were reporting on an incident in which members of the Democratic Students’ Alliance (Loktantrik Bidhyarthi Yuva Morcha) were staging an action to remove the photographs of the King and Queen from the government offices of the district headquarters.
Police Inspectors Ramesh Panthi and Praveen Lal Shrestha treated the photojournalists roughly and demanded they surrender their photographs, seizing a roll of film from Shrestha, of Kantipur Television. When the journalists denied having taken photographs and said that they would not surrender them to the police even if they had done so, the inspectors verbally abused them.
A group of journalists have responded to the call of the FNJ’s Nuwakot chapter to hold a sit-in to protest the incident and demand the return of the seized roll of film.
FNJ condemns the incident and demands the immediate return of the film, an investigation into the incident, and that appropriate action be taken against the guilty. FNJ also urges the police to ensure that press freedom and the rights of journalists are respected.