Police Attack Journalist in Nepal

 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned about information received by its affiliate, the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), that a journalist was beaten by police in Sunsari district in eastern Nepal.

According to the FNJ, a correspondent for the Rajdhani Daily and Sagarmatha Television, Birendra K.M., was reportedly attacked by members of the Armed Police Force on December 6.

The FNJ’s Sunsari chapter reported that Birendra was taken inside a police van, beaten and forced to hand over film after he covered clashes between local businessmen and police over fertilizer smuggling in Inaruwa, the district capital.

“The use of violence by authorities to intimidate journalists and attempt to prevent them conducting their work are a direct threat to media freedom,” said IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park.

“The job of a journalist is to investigate and report on all crime and corruption, regardless of the perpetrator.”

The IFJ joins the FNJ in condemning the attack on Birendra and calls on Nepal’s Government to enforce a higher level of professionalism among local authorities and security personnel to ensure the safety of journalists and media workers in the conduct of their work.

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

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries

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