In a separate incident, on the day of November 19 Constituent Assembly election, a supporter of a political candidate seized cameras from two journalists in Janakpurdham, a city in the southern plain of Nepal.
Ishwor Chandra Jha, reporter with the Himal Khabar Patrika, from Janakpurdham, said Chandra Shekhar Yadav, supporter of the Nepali Congress party, had seized the cameras from him and fellow journalist Sanjay Raut of Himalayan TV. Mr Yadav seized the cameras while they were capturing the dispute among the leaders during vote counting. Later, Mr Yadav made an apology over the seizure and returned cameras, said reporter Jha.
Freedom Forum condemns the incident, and strongly urges the concerned political parties and leaders to respect the journalists' right to make news and people's right to information. Importantly, they must exhibit media-friendly behaviour to suit democratic culture.
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