Freedom Forum shows its serious concern over the incidents of press freedom violation in Nepal. Its attention has been drawn recently toward an incident in Tarai region in the country.
Freedom Forum has been deeply concerned over the news that journalists were detained by the police in Rautahat, a district in Terai region of Nepal, accusing them of publishing ditto a press release of an armed outfit in Tarai region on February 24, 2011.
The arrested ones are chief editor of The New Times Today weekly Ram Pukar Raut and its editor Pravin Sharma Jha. The weekly is published in the district.
Although the District Police Office detained the journalists accusing them of having links with underground armed outfit waging struggle in Tarai, a media person associated with the weekly said the police arrested journalist duo Raut and Jha only to take revenge after the news was published about the police taking hush money from animal smuggler.
However, police so far have not been able to produce any evidence against the journalists.
Freedom Forum therefore strongly urges the police administration to immediately release them if they were held without any wrongdoing.
For more information,
Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
01-4102030/ 4102022