NEPAL

MAY 18, 2005
Posted: June 10, 2005

Kanak Mani Dixit, Himal Khabarpatrika
Guna Raj Luitel, Kantipur,
Yubaraj Ghimire, Samay
Tara Nath Dahal, Federation of Nepalese Journalists

HARASSED Dixit, publisher of the magazine Himal Khabarpatrika, was ordered to report to local government officials in the suburban district of Lalitpur near the capital, Kathmandu, for questioning. Officials demanded a written explanation of an article by Dixit that called for a constitutional monarchy.

Several other journalists told CPJ that authorities have not restored their mobile phone service since it was cut off on February 1. Though cell phone service resumed for most citizens in early May, a handful of prominent journalists—including Luitel of Kantipur, Ghimire of Samay, and former Federation of Nepalese Journalists president Dahal—told CPJ that the government has denied them service without explanation.