A petrol bomb was hurled against a group of three photojournalists namely, Keshav Thapa of The Kathmandu Post, by an unidentified gang on March 28.
The attack took place while they were reporting on the clashes between Police and various student unions protesting against the Free Student Union's election at Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus in the Kathmandu Valley.
During a conversation with Freedom Forum, journalist Thapa said, "After we took the pictures of the ongoing FSU election and the protest, a gang threw a petrol bomb which blasted near us. Being close, I had a minor injury on legs and eyes and am using an eye drop. Other friends however, escaped injury."
On a separate talk with journalist Poudel, he shared, "Even though we escaped injury, few hours later, a group approached me for coffee and threatened me not to post more pictures and make elaborate the protest for my own safety. I am pretty sure they too belonged to the protesting students' group. Thus, the attack may be preplanned, he confirmed."
Information about the attack and threat has been given to police, he added.
Freedom Forum vehemently condemns the attack on journalists. Attack on journalists merely because of their profession even in the presence of security forces in the capital city draws a serious concern. It is a sheer violation of press freedom. FF urges the concerned bodies to investigate into the case and help respect journalists' right to free reporting.
For more Information
Freedom Forum
Thapathali, Kathmandu
Post Box No: 24292
Phone No. 4102030, 4102022
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np; info@freedomforum.org.np
Website: www.nepalpressfreedom.org; www.freedomforum.org.np