Policepersons assaulted reporters while reporting a protest in Butwal on April 15. Butwal lies in Lumbini Province of Nepal.
Journalists Sharan Kumar Karmacharya (www.khabarkura.com), Dinesh Shrestha (www.khabarkura.com),DB Sushling (http://www.globalawaj.com/), Santa Kumar Shrestha (Editor, https://samatalonline.com/) and Bijay Gyawali (https://jagaranpost.com/) were reporting on a protest being waged by the locals demanding fair probe on suspicious death a woman on Wednesday (April 13) in front of the Area Police Office.
The clash occurred among protestors and police persons while taming the protest. Meanwhile, the police person incharge at the protest grabbed journalist Karmacharya by beck and said, "We do not care about any journalist", when Gyawali tried to show his press ID card to the police.
According the media reports, police persons seized mobile phone of Sushling and threatened him to delete the recordings, threw the microphone of journalist Gyawali, and beat journalist Santa Shrestha with baton on his legs.
Freedom Forum condemns the police hostility to the journalists while doing their job. It is gross violation of press freedom. Nepal police should be aware of the journalists' right to free reporting and ensure their safety while taming the protest.
FF urges police persons not to repeat such intimidation but respect journalists’ rights.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np