Maheshwar Pahari

NEPAL

King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev seized direct power on February 1, dealing an unprecedented blow to press freedom. He cut all telephone lines, blocked Internet service, and sent the army to major media outlets to censor the news line by line. Hundreds of political leaders, civil activists, and journalists were detained. The king dismissed his multiparty government and declared a state of emergency, which lasted three months.

New York, October 5, 2005 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today held the Nepalese authorities responsible for the death of an imprisoned reporter who died after being denied proper medical treatment. Maheshwar Pahari, 30, who worked for the weekly Rastriya Swabhiman, died of tuberculosis on Tuesday, according to local journalist groups.

Pahari died in a hospital in Pokhara, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Kathmandu. Local doctors recommended Pahari be transferred to Kathmandu for better treatment, and members of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in Pokhara offered to pay to send him, the FNJ said. But officials refused, citing security concerns. He was allowed treatment for various, serious health problems at the local hospital only after repeated appeals by his wife Durga Pahari, local journalists told CPJ.

OCTOBER 4, 2005
Posted October 17, 2005

Maheshwar Pahari, Rastriya Swabhiman
KILLED—CONFIRMED

Imprisoned reporter Pahari died after being denied proper medical treatment by authorities. Pahari, 30, who worked for the weekly Rastriya Swabhiman, died of tuberculosis, according to local journalist groups, in a hospital in Pokhara, 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Kathmandu. Local doctors recommended Pahari be transferred to Kathmandu for better treatment, and members of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) in Pokhara offered to pay to send him, the FNJ said. But officials refused, citing security concerns. He was allowed treatment for various, serious health problems at the local hospital only after repeated appeals by his wife Durga Pahari, local journalists told CPJ.

New York, July 11, 2005—Maoist rebels on Saturday released Som Sharma, a reporter in eastern Nepal’s Ilam district who was abducted from his home nearly two months ago. Maoist leaders also called off the house arrest of Ilam-based reporter Umesh Gurung, calling their actions against him a “mistake,” according to local news reports

Sharma, a reporter for the weekly Aankha, had been in Maoist custody since May 13. Sharma’s release followed negotiations on his behalf by the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), who sent a delegation to meet with local Maoist leaders. FNJ central committee member Purna Basnet told The Associated Press that Sharma was targeted in response to his critical reporting on Maoist activities in the area.

Nepal

Amid an explosive civil conflict between Maoist rebels and government forces, the safety of the Nepalese press hung on the fragile prospects for peace. Estimates of the death toll since the collapse of a six-month cease-fire in August 2003 vary, but local journalists say heavy fighting in 2004 killed several thousand people. According to the BBC, 10,000 have been killed since the insurgency began eight years ago.

Around the world, 122 journalists were in prison at the end of 2004 for practicing their profession, 16 fewer than the year before. International advocacy campaigns, including those waged by the Committee to Protect Journalists, helped win the early release of a number of imprisoned journalists, notably six independent writers and reporters in Cuba.

Your Majesty:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned about the detentions of three journalists in western Nepal: Dhaniram Tharu and Maheshwar Pahari, who have been missing for several months; and Khadga Bahadur Swar, known as K.B. Jumli, whom local authorities arrested on April 4.

CPJ believes that they may have been detained in connection with their reporting on the Maoist rebel insurgency.