Police must refrain from misusing the ETA to silence dissenting voices
Media Rights Monitoring Desk -MEDIA ACTION NEPAL
KATHMANDU/ February 15: The fundamental liberties protected under the Nepalese Constitution have been seriously jeopardized by the arrest of Puskar and Aishwarya. Although the Nepalese constitution provides for a number of freedoms, including the freedom of the press, police have been misusing the legal system to silence dissenting opinions, said Laxman Datt Pant, Chairperson of Media Action Nepal.
Talking to Media Action Nepal, Advocate Binod Bhatta, who fought for Puskar and Aishwarya claimed that police had misused Article 47 of the Electronic Transaction Act (ETA) in order to exact personal retribution.
Inspector Binu Shahi’s last name was typed incorrectly as Thapa in a news article that Aishwarya wrote a few months prior, according to Binod. Subsequently, they apologized via their media and social media accounts and corrected the story within five minutes of it being published. “However, police recently arrested both journalists over their Facebook posts and comments about it, citing Article 47 of the ETA,” he said. “It is the abuse of Article 47 by the authorities.”
“They should have written to the appropriate bodies to ask their journalists to be vigilant about the facts, but instead they arrested them to threaten and satisfy their personal issues,” he added. He further said, “At around 10 o’clock last night (February 14), the police decided to free Puskar; however, Aishwarya was taken into custody once more after she declined to apologize to Inspector Binu. Following Puskar’s release, we began negotiating Aishwarya’s release. Eventually, at 1 AM (February 15), we had a mutual understanding to release them on personal guarantee.”
Similarly, speaking to Media Action Nepal, Aishwarya Kunwar shared that they have been released on personal guarantee. Aishwarya claims that Inspector Binu Shahi asked Puskar and Aishwarya to touch her feet in apology. She said, “We were asked to apologize and touch Inspector Binu’s feet. But I denied it, telling her to hold on to me for as long as she could, but I will not touch your feet.”
She claims that Inspector Binu Shahi has screenshotted and reviewed her private conversations. “She threatened me with screenshots from my phone using abusive language,” she told Media Action Nepal. She also said that she was sorry if she had offended Binu personally. “But I cannot bear the responsibility for something that I have not done. We have been asked to appear at police, and the police have confiscated our phones and gadgets,” she said.
Media Action Nepal, meanwhile, has voiced its concerns over the horrors perpetrated by the government and has reminded relevant authorities to desist from actions that could hinder the press’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom including right to freedom of expression.
Media Action Nepal, meanwhile, has voiced its concerns over the horrors perpetrated by the government and has reminded relevant authorities to desist from actions that could hinder the press’s constitutionally guaranteed freedom including right to freedom of expression.
“Acts and laws cannot be twisted by authorities to suit their own purposes. They have to exercise caution before violating right to freedom of expression. Furthermore, articles such as 47 of the Electronic Transaction Act should be amended to prohibit such conduct,” said Chairperson Pant.