Nepal sees intensified threats against journalists

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MEDIA ACTION NEPAL | March 27:  Despite continuous condemnations from media rights organizations, attacks and threats against journalists remain on the rise in Nepal. Alarmingly, the trend also reflects increasing threats from authorities, including the police.

 Karnali Province

  • Bishnu Prasad Neupane, Surkhet correspondent for Annapurna Post national daily, has faced threats on social media following the publication of a news report, causing him significant mental distress. On March 25, Neupane published an investigative report in Annapurna Post titled “Extreme misuse of foreign aid: luxurious lifestyle of relatives and families in the name of social organizations”, exposing irregularities in the Kopila Valley Sewa Samaj in Surkhet. On March 26, Annapurna Post published an editorial calling for an end to ‘the irregularities in non-governmental organizations’. In response to these coverages, relatives of Kopila Valley’s Managing Director, Top Bahadur Malla including Prakash Singh and Lokjung Singh Thakuri allegedly issued death threats to Neupane via social media. Feeling unsafe, Neupane has filed a formal complaint with the District Police Office, Surkhet.

Madhesh Province

  • Manjit Ram, a Radio Nepal reporter from Mahottari district, was attacked on Monday (March 17). According to Media Action Nepal Madhesh Province Coordinator, Hadis Khudar, Ram was assaulted at his home in Sonama Rural Municipality 5. Kunja Bihari Yadavi, a member of the same community, and his family members broke into journalist Ram’s home and severely beat him.

Sudurpashchim Province

  • Police manhandled against journalist Arju Hamal, affiliated with Dinesh FM and Dinesh Khabar.com, during a news gathering.  According to Dinesh Khabar, Arju, Dinesh FM/Dinesh Khabar’s news director, was assaulted and mistreated by Kailali police on Sunday (March 9) while covering the inauguration of the newly constructed City Hall in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City-8.
  • Journalist Prakash Mishra, was targeted by hotel owners in Sudurpaschim province over writing the news. On Monday, March 17, Mishra wrote a byline news story for Dhangadhi’s Anumodan Khabar daily under the title ‘Mysterious gathering of foreign nationals in the Simli jungle of Kailali’. According to Anumodan Khabar, when Mishra arrived in Pahalmanpur, he was attacked by Dabal Bahadur Shah, the owner of Ojuwa Cafe in Ghodaghodi, and Chet Bahadur Singh, the owner of Srijana Hotel in Pahalmanpur, who summoned him to his shop on Thursday, claiming to have work to do. The attack resulted in serious hand injuries for journalist Mishra. “They fractured my hand. I have bandaged it. Doctors have suggested keeping the bandage for a month at least. Regarding nose injuries, I plan to see a specialist in Kathmandu,” he told Media Action Nepal. He further said, “The police have arrested Dabal Bahadur Shah, while Chet Bahadur Singh is absconding. My demand is that they be punished to the full extent of the law.”

 Bagmati Province

  • Ajaya Hakuju, a Himal Khabar journalist, was attacked while photographing a clash that erupted at Patan Multiple Campus during the Free Students’ Union (FSU) elections on Tuesday (March 18, afternoon). Hakuju sustained facial injuries.  They forced Hakuzu to delete a photo he took of a youth holding a stick and a rod. Hakuju was suddenly attacked as he was deleting the photo. The cops came and rescued him.

Media Action Nepal strongly condemns the rising threats against journalists across the country and calls on authorities to take urgent measures to ensure their safety.