(FNJ/IFEX) – Manoj Sah, a freelancer journalist linked with the Maoist allied Revolutionary Journalist Association, was attacked by a dozen people on 17 January 2008 near the Chamar area of Janakpur, an eastern city of Nepal. According to Ashok Rauniyar, president of Federation of Nepali Journalists, Dhanusha chapter, Sah was attacked while he was returning […]
(FNJ/IFEX) – Manoj Sah, a freelancer journalist linked with the Maoist allied Revolutionary Journalist Association, was attacked by a dozen people on 17 January 2008 near the Chamar area of Janakpur, an eastern city of Nepal.
According to Ashok Rauniyar, president of Federation of Nepali Journalists, Dhanusha chapter, Sah was attacked while he was returning home from his office by a group of individuals with a Khukuri (a sharp weapon) and sustained serious injuries to his head and wrists. The assailants hit his wrists saying “aren’t you writing news with these hands?” Sah was taken to the Teaching Hospital of Kathmandu to undergo surgery.
The attack is believed to be linked to the publication of an article in the local daily “Bishwojagaran”. According to Rauniyar, a few days prior to the assault, Sah was threatened and warned not to write about a controversy surrounding the Janaki Temple.
FNJ condemns these increasing attacks on media personnel, for whom the government has failed in providing security. The trend of attacks on journalists in recent days shows that journalists are in constant danger. For this reason, the FNJ urges the government to take the security of media personnel, seriously and bring the culprits to justice.