Three youths arrested for dissent released after public outcry
KATHMANDU/ September 2: While Article 17.2 (a) of the Constitution of Nepal ensures the freedom of opinion and expression, three youths were apprehended by police in Kathmandu on August 26 Monday for expressing their opinions and sloganeering against Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and former Prime Minister and Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba during the Gaura Festival program.
The Constitution of Nepal clearly makes the government respect dissenting voices as part of its fundamental rights section as well as Nepal’s adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 19 of both instruments states that everyone has the right to hold their opinions without interference, as well as the right to free expression.
Although they were released on Friday, it took widespread condemnation from all sectors, as well as a strong voice from civil society organisations, to free the youth. The arrestees were Gopi Ram Jaisi, 34, of Surkhet; Ram Bahadur Buda, also known as Rembo Buda, 24, of Acham; and Deepak Singh Thagunna of Kanchanpur. They were released on Friday after paying NPR 9,000 bail each, reported Khabarhub.
Political parties such as the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have condemned the government’s decision. RSP lawmaker Hari Dhakal stated that it was wrong to detain the youths under the guise of anarchic behaviour. Similarly, RPP president Rajendra Lingden has stated that the government is becoming undemocratic.
Lingden protested at the National Democratic Youth Organization Sankharapur Nagar convention in Sankhu, Kathmandu, on Saturday, alleging that youths who oppose the government are being searched, arrested, and detained. “If you cannot protest peacefully in a democracy, what kind of system are you practicing?” he asked. “We must ask them—the Nepali Congress and the UML—why they have begun arresting those who oppose them.”
The incident occurred during the Gaura Festival program in Kathmandu, where Prime Minister Oli and NC President Deuba were present to extend their greetings to the people. During the event, a group of youths protested, chanting slogans like “KP is a burden, who has invited pain and suffering …leave the country!”
Media Action Nepal denounces the undemocratic act by two of the most senior leaders in the country who battled for democracy but are now becoming undemocratic, arresting youths to suppress the dissenting voice and critiques. This is the flagrant violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. We demand that such acts not be repeated in the future.