Journalist arrested, media outlet raided; Prime Minister’s Office denies involvement
KATHMANDU:- Although Deepa Dahal, the Prime Minister’s expert on press and research, stated that the Prime Minister, his secretariat, and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers were not involved in the arrests of journalists, the Nepal Police raided several media outlets and apprehended journalists on Friday.
Expressing her views via social media, she stated that neither the Prime Minister nor his secretariat had any prior knowledge of the incident.
Dahal stated that immediately upon learning of the incident, the Prime Minister directed the concerned authorities to release the arrested journalists at once and to refrain from entering media newsrooms to conduct arrests.
Meanwhile, the Press Council Nepal has expressed its concern regarding the incident in which police officers in plain clothes entered the newsrooms of various media outlets after office hours on Friday and took journalists into custody.
The Council has stated that it holds the responsibility for investigating complaints regarding news published in the media—whether concerning disagreements with the content or violations of the Code of Conduct for Journalists—and has requested the police to follow the appropriate legal procedures.
In a statement issued by Council spokesperson Deepak Khanal, a commitment has been expressed toward protecting press freedom and promoting ethical journalism.
Similarly, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has expressed its opposition to the arrest of a journalist and the raid on a media outlet, both of which were prompted by the publication of a news report.
In a statement issued by party spokesperson Jagadish Kharel, the party described such actions as contrary to press freedom and democratic values, and demanded the immediate release of the arrested journalist.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Communications Bikram Timilsina has announced that all the arrested journalists have been released.
In a post on the social media platform Facebook, he stated that all the detained journalists have been set free. He emphasized that the government remains fully committed to press freedom.
He wrote, “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.”
