The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Federation of Nepali Journalists
(FNJ) in strongly condemning the death threats made against television reporter
Arjun Shrestha by associates of a businessman in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu.
According to reports received from
the FNJ and other partners in the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN), Milan Bista and BN Jha,
employees of Sitaram Milk, a dairy company in the city, arrived at Shrestha’s home in
Koteswor, Kathmandu on October 18 and
threatened to “finish” him in retaliation for a news report he had filed on the
company.
Shrestha was also allegedly
manhandled when he warned the intruders that he would summon the police.
In his reports filed for ABC
Television Shrestha had highlighted how certain standards of safety and quality
control were not being observed by the company.
“The IFJ joins
the FNJ and other SAMSN partners in calling for a sustained effort to hold to account
those responsible for intimidating journalists and impeding reporting in the
public interest,” IFJ Asia-Pacific
Director Jacqueline Park said .
“Threats
from political and business quarters have become a frequent hazard for
journalists in Nepal.
We call upon the authorities to establish a strong precedent of acting promptly
and fairly in this case.”
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0919
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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