The
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliate the Federation of Nepali
Journalists (FNJ) in condemning the series of attacks and threats that have
been made against journalists in Nepal during the month of April.
Reports received by the
IFJ state that Subash Chandra Sah, Bara District Correspondent for Rajdhani Daily and Radio Nepal and the publisher of Namaste Times Daily, was attacked by an unidentified group at 6.30
pm, in Kalaiya, Bara District, in the central region of Nepal, on April 13, 2012.
Sah reportedly sustained
injuries to his body, and is receiving treatment in hospital.
In another incident, Rajendra
Adhikari, editor and publisher of Don
News Daily and photo journalist Bandhuram Parajuli, also of the Don News Daily, were both allegedly threatened
by Gundaraj Shrestha 'Min', an activist of the UCPN, a Maoist affiliated labour
union, in response to stories published in Nepal’s western region on April 13, 2012.
Shrestha allegedly telephoned
the newspaper office and threatened to kill the two journalists if they did not
stop publishing stories about a transport syndicate in the area.
These incidents follow
the attack on journalistKrishna Neupane, on April 9, and the
violent murder of correspondent Yadav
Poudel, in Nepal
on April 1, 2012.
“The IFJ is concerned by
the escalating pattern of attacks and threats of violence against journalists
in Nepal
in 2012,” the IFJ Asia-Pacific
Office said.
“The IFJ Asia
Pacific supports calls to see that timely and efficient investigations are
undertaken into the attacks and threats, and demands that those responsible be brought
to justice.”
This month’s incidents provide
further weight to the recommendations made by the International
Mission that travelled to Nepal
in February 2012.The Mission made specific calls to action in two
key areas, namely legal and policy reform surrounding attacks on journalists
and the culture of impunity.
For further
information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific
on +612 9333 0950
The IFJ
represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
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