Mission tells Nepal: No excuse for deferring press freedom
As Nepal’s constituent assembly failed to meet Sunday’s deadline for the passage of a new constitution, a new report released this week on the risks to Nepal’s media should remind political parties that peace and stability are not prerequisites to media freedom but rather that a strong, independent press operating without fear is a requirement…
Two sentenced in Nepal journalist’s murder
New York, June 14, 2011–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed today the conviction of two suspects in the 2009 murder of journalist Uma Singh, but called for a continued investigation into the remaining suspects in the attack. A court in Dhanusa district sentenced Lalita Singh and Nemlal Paswan to life imprisonment for their involvement in the…
Attacks on the Press 2009: Nepal
Top Developments• Government fails to investigate press freedom abuses. • Reporter slain after covering Maoist land seizures. Key Statistic 8th: Ranking on CPJ Impunity Index, making it one of world’s worst for press. Nepal’s news media entered 2009 in a state of crisis. Attacks on the press had escalated in late 2008 amid a climate…
CPJ concerned about rise in unpunished attacks in Nepal
Dear Prime Minister Dahal: On December 29, your government signed an agreement with local press freedom group the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), ending a week of protest by journalists against a series of attacks on media outlets which peaked in late December. That agreement promised that those attacks would be addressed.
Attacks on the Press in 2008: Nepal
Nepal made a historic shift in 2008 from a monarchy to a coalition-ruled democratic republic under the leadership of a former Maoist guerrilla. Journalists’ uncertainty about the ex-rebel leader’s newfound legitimacy was apparent as they struggled to find a way to refer to him in print. Most hedged their bets and used his given name,…
Nepal’s Birendra Shah is dead, Maoists say
New York, November 5, 2007—Maoist authorities issued a statement today confirming the murder of Nepalese journalist Birendra Shah on October 4, the day he was kidnapped, by members of their party, according to Guna Raj Luitel, news editor of Kantipur Daily in Kathmandu. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) had distanced itself from the murder,…
Growing concern for missing journalist in Nepal
New York , October 12, 2007 – The Committee to Protect Journalists is increasingly concerned about the fate of missing journalist Birendra Shah as political pressure mounts in Nepal to find him. CPJ called for the release of Shah, who reports for Nepal FM, Dristi Weekly, and Avenues TV, on Wednesday. He was abducted by…
Nepalese journalist abducted, Maoist leadership denies responsibility
New York, October 10, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the abduction of Nepalese journalist Birendra Shah, Bara district correspondent for Nepal FM, Dristi Weekly, and Avenues TV. Shah has been missing since Friday. Ram Dev Das, editor of the magazine Terai Khabar Patrika, told the Federation of Nepalese Journalists that he was with Shah…