Dhan Bahadur Rokka Magar

CPJ research indicates that the following journalists have disappeared while doing their work. Although some of them are feared dead, no bodies have been found, and they are therefore not classified as "Killed." If a journalist disappeared after being held in government custody, CPJ classifies him or her as "Imprisoned" as a way to hold the government accountable for the journalist's fate.

Political turmoil and an intensified Maoist insurgency severely strained Nepal's young democracy and profoundly challenged the country's independent media. In November 2001, the government, then led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, imposed a state of emergency, introduced a sweeping anti-terrorism ordinance, and called out the army to counter the mounting threat posed by Maoist rebels. Each of these actions had serious repercussions for the press in 2002. Under the state of emergency, in effect until late August, press freedom and other civil liberties were suspended. The anti-terrorism ordinance--formally known as the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Control and Punishment) Ordinance and commonly referred to as TADO--identifies the Maoist faction of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN-M) as a terrorist group and allows for the arrest of anyone "in contact with" or "supportive of" the rebels. More than 100 journalists were detained during 2002 under these broad provisions, which remain in force. The government also introduced reporting guidelines, banning anything "likely to create hatred against [the] Royal Nepal Army, police, and civil servants, and lower their morale and dignity."

New York, February 28, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemns the recent harassment of two journalists by Maoist rebel forces in Nepal. In separate incidents, Maoist rebels have threatened journalists whose reporting criticized the "People's War."

In mid-February, reporters for the national newspaper Nepal Samacharpatra learned that their colleague Deepak Bahadur Thapa has been confined to his village, Thapsa Gaon, in the western district of Accham, for the last three months on the orders of local Maoist leaders who control the area. The Maoist leadership threatened Thapa, Accham-based correspondent for Nepal Samacharpatra, saying that he would be in danger if he attempted to leave the village, according to the newspaper's editor, Kapil Kafle. The rebels have accused Thapa of writing against the People's War, Kafle said.