Reporter at Gorkhapatra National Daily, Deoram Yadav was attacked on June 19 over a critical social media post. The incident took place in Saptari district of Madhesh Province, Nepal.
According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Saptari President Shrawan Kumar Dev, Yadav was attacked over a social media post he had written on June 13 regarding irregularities in local road construction in Mahadeva Rural Municipality.
In a video shared by FNJ Saptari, reporter Yadav stated that his post was about substandard road construction over private land in the Ward no. 1 Sonra village. Following this, relatives of the municipality’s Vice Chairperson Archana Yadav approached him and questioned him about the post. They then, hit Yadav on the head with helmet. He sustained bruises on his shoulder during the attack and is currently receiving treatment in a hospital.
“The attackers, who attacked me for doing my job, must be punished as per the law. We (journalists) should be able to continue our profession without fear", Yadav said.
Freedom Forum condemns the attack upon a reporter. Not only journalists but all citizens have the right to express their views and bringforth public issues on social media. The incident is a sheer violation of freedom of expression. FF strongly urges the security authority to address case seriously and ensure safe atmosphere for journalists.
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