Kathmandu, August 13: The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) staged a sit-in in front of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, today, in protest against the arrest of Kishor Shrestha, editor of Jana Aastha weekly and chairman of Aastha Media.
Journalists, led by the federation, staged the sit-in in front of the Kathmandu Police Range, demanding Shrestha’s immediate release.
Police arrested journalist Shrestha from his residence in Bagdol, Lalitpur, on Wednesday night and have kept him in custody at the Kathmandu Police Range.
Journalists participating in the sit-in also chanted slogans in front of the police range in protest against Shrestha’s arrest. They carried placards bearing slogans such as ‘It is impossible to silence the press by intimidating journalists,’ ‘Restore press freedom,’ and ‘Release journalist Kishor Shrestha unconditionally.’
The federation said that arresting an editor over the publication of news constitutes interference in press freedom.
The federation urged that any dissatisfaction with published news should be resolved through established legal and press-related procedures. It said that the arrest and detention of journalists themselves would not be acceptable.
The federation called on the concerned authorities to create an environment in which journalists can write and publish news fearlessly.
The federation also made it clear that any form of interference against journalists aimed at protecting press and freedom of expression would be unacceptable.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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