The International Federation of Journalists has sent a letter of protest to the Prime Minister of Nepal, voicing its concern over the arrest of journalist Yogesh Rawal, in Tikapur, Kailali district and calls upon the Government of Nepal to release all journalists currently under arrest in Nepal and make a commitment to freedom of the press in Nepal by not employing intimidation in an attempt to censor the media.

31 October 2003

Honorable Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa

Prime Minister of Nepal

Prime Minister’s Office

Singh Dubar

Kathmandu

Kingdom of Nepal

Fax: 9771226286, 9771227765

Email: [email protected]

Honorable Mr. Ananat Raj Pandey

Secretary for Home Affairs, HMG/Nepal

Fax: 9771228166,

Email: [email protected]

Mr. Nayan Bahadur Khatri

Chairman, Nepal Human Rights Commission

Fax: 9771547973

Email: [email protected]

Your Excellency,

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), The International Federation of Journalists, the global organisation of journalists representing over 500,000 journalists worldwide is deeply concerned over the arrest of journalist Yogesh Rawal, in Tikapur in the Kailali district of Nepal.

According to our information, on 24 October, journalist, Rawal along with 22 soccer players were arrested by officers of the Armed Police Force (ARF) based in Ugratara.

The soccer players were all released after one hour. On 25 October, the police raided Rawal’s house, according to his father, and confiscated two books on human rights. Rawal is the secretary of a local Amnesty International group and a member of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in Kailali.

The IFJ strongly condemns the arrest of Rawal and reminds Government of Nepal that journalists must be allowed to work free from censorship and intimidation in order to ensure a free and unbiased media.

The IFJ asks the Government of Nepal to disclose the whereabouts of all journalists who are currently under arrest and release them all immediately.

Further more the IFJ calls on the Nepalese government to express its commitment to press freedom and to ensure the safety of all journalists in Nepal.

Yours sincerely,

Christopher Warren

President, IFJ

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