Nepal Police on Friday took several journalists into custody from newsrooms in Kathmandu for questioning over news content, in a series of plainclothes visits that drew strong condemnation from press-freedom bodies. All the detained journalists were released late in the evening, Communications Minister Bikram Timilsina announced, ANI reported.
Plainclothes officers entered the newsroom of the online portal Nepal Press and took journalist Bishwamani Subedi, who covers security and crime, in a police vehicle. According to Nepal Press, the officers presented no arrest warrant, identified themselves as personnel from the Crime Investigation Division and cited an order from the Inspector General of Police; police sources cited by the outlet said the detention was at the request of the Cyber Bureau. Superintendent of Police Deepak Awasthi of the Cyber Bureau confirmed that Subedi and several others had been brought in for questioning.
Shobhraj Baral of Motivate News was also taken away by plainclothes personnel for questioning, Media Action Nepal said. Police also visited the offices of the Naya Patrika daily seeking journalist Navaraj Mainali, and the online outlet Diyo Post seeking editor Sudip Bishwakarma, and Diyo Post editor Rita Budhathoki reported calls from unidentified numbers seeking the office location alongside threats directed at Bishwakarma.
Round-up followed a report on an alleged WhatsApp exchange
The detentions came a day after the Naya Patrika published a report detailing an alleged WhatsApp exchange between Supreme Court Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal and Inam Sapkota, a man accused of using connections with powerful figures to influence state institutions. ANI noted that the alleged transactions in that reporting have not been independently established as bribes or conclusively linked to the individuals named. Police sources cited by Nepal Press separately linked Subedi's detention to a Nepal Press report concerning alleged pressure on the Inspector General of Police to resign, with investigators seeking to identify the report's source.
"All the arrested journalists have been released. The government is fully committed to press freedom. Press freedom and responsible journalism are the pillars of democracy," Minister Timilsina said, without specifying how many journalists had been taken into custody. Media Action Nepal chairperson Umesh Pokharel said the arrests and the absence of clear explanations risked creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation in newsrooms, and the organisation stressed that journalists must not face arbitrary arrest and that any investigation must follow due process and the constitutional guarantees of expression and communication. Press Council Nepal also expressed serious concern over the newsroom detentions.
Source: ANI via APNA MA TV