Journalist Padam Prasad Pokhrel attacked while covering alleged police assault in Nepal
New York, March 19, 2024—Nepali authorities must swiftly and impartially investigate the attack on journalist Padam Prasad Pokhrel and hold the perpetrators to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On the evening of February 28, up to 15 police officers attacked Pokhrel, editor-in-chief of the news website Pranmancha, while the journalist was filming…
Nepali reporters detained, threatened while reporting on COVID-19 pandemic
Police in districts around Nepal briefly detained at least four journalists in relation to coverage of the coronavirus pandemic since the government introduced containment measures on March 23, 2020, while at least six others reported being threatened or attacked by a range of actors seeking to suppress allegations of wrongdoing over the same period, according…
Nepal’s hard-fought press freedom at risk amid restrictive bills, government pressure
Last year, when Raju Basnet was covering landgrabs in the Nepali city of Lalitpur, he knew he was playing with fire. His reports in the weekly Khojtalas alleged that powerful people, including government officials, were involved in the scheme and Basnet had already received multiple warnings to back off the story. Despite this, Basnet told…