Journalist Attacked in Nepal

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its outrage over the assault of a senior member of its affiliate, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) on August 30.

According to the FNJ, Nemling Lama, the Vice President of its Sindhupalchowk chapter and a correspondent for Nepal Television, was attacked while covering a news story about smugglers operating between Nepal and China.

The incident occurred while Lama was reporting on smugglers taking red sandalwood out of Nepal over the Chinese border, when he was assaulted in a clash between a smuggler and a local resident.

A camera belonging to Lama was also taken forcefully during the clash.

IFJ Asia Pacific Director Jacqueline Park condemned the attack and urged the Nepalese Government to take action against the perpetrators.

‘‘Journalists’ personal protection must be foremost for all governments across the world,’’ Park said.

‘‘This is the second time this month that journalists have come under attack in Nepal,’’ Park said.

This latest attack on a journalist comes just weeks after the IFJ and its Nepalese affiliates the FNJ, the National Union of Journalists Nepal (NUJ) and the Nepal Press Union (NPU) called for the Nepalese Government to enforce the Working Journalist Act to ensure media workers were granted basic employment benefits to guarantee their safety.

The FNJ has condemned the assault and has urged the persons concerned to apologise and to prevent such incidents in the future.

The FNJ has also demanded stern action against those involved the attack.


For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0919

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 114 countries