(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES condemns the detention of over a dozen media personnel across the country on the first day of the four-day-long general strike called by the seven party opposition alliance. The strike is the inaugural action in the alliance’s peaceful movement against the 14-month-old direct rule of King Gyanendra. In the southern town of […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES condemns the detention of over a dozen media personnel across the country on the first day of the four-day-long general strike called by the seven party opposition alliance. The strike is the inaugural action in the alliance’s peaceful movement against the 14-month-old direct rule of King Gyanendra.
In the southern town of Birgunj, police took one dozen journalists into custody on 6 April 2006. The journalists were protesting the police intervention into a peaceful rally and the arrest of dozens of journalists and professionals in Kathmandu on 5 April. Those detained in Birgunj include Shatrughna Nepal, Krishna Khanal, Dipendra Chauhan, Sriram Rayamajhi, Sanjaya Shah, Kapildev Yadav, Shiva Patel, KC Lamichhane, Dhruva Shah, Sudip Shrestha, Baidyanath Thakur and Gaya Yadav.
In the eastern district of Ilam, police took into custody five journalists who were covering the protests of opposition activists. Those arrested include the president of the FNJ’s Ilam branch, Somnath Susheli, as well as journalists Devi Chhetri Dulal, Ashok Bantawa, Rohit Chandra Bhattarai and Prem Adhikari.
Police abused, manhandled and beat the journalists with a baton while arresting them.
CEHURDES condemns the continuing mistreatment and detention of journalists by the royal government in Nepal. These actions are in clear violation of the country’s constitution and international conventions to which Nepal is a party.
CEHURDES calls upon the government to release all the detained journalists and to take action to ensure no further arrests of this nature are made. CEHURDES also urges security personnel not to target media personnel while they are carrying out their duties.
On 5 April, police took into custody over 34 journalists and professionals while they were taking part in a peaceful rally in Kathmandu. They were later released.