The security personnel misbehaved with Krishnamani Baral, photo journalist of Annapurna Post and The Himalayan Times national Daily in Pokhara for taking photos of ex-princess Himani Shah on May 24.
The security personnel pounced on Baral after he clicked Himani in mid-flight. They took him to Lakeside from Khapaundi and deleted the photos. However, the photos were restored from memory card using recovery software, according to The Himalayan Times.
When asked about the incident, Nepal Police and Nepal Army officials said they knew nothing about Himani's Pokhara trip.
Freedom Forum condemns the incident as it violates the journalist's right to reporting in public place which is enshrined in Nepal's interim constitution. Barring and harassing journalists of taking photos in public place is, very indeed, a violation of freedom of expression. Therefore, Forum would like to draw the attention of concerned authority regarding the incident and urges to investigate into the incident and take necessity legal action against the guilty.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022