“The IFJ fully endorses the demands the FNJ has placed before Nepali authorities to end the climate of impunity that prevails for attacks on journalists and put in place sound guarantees of physical safety and professional security for news gatherers all over the country,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said in a release.[break]
“The FNJ has led this struggle and produced notable victories in the past, principally in the realm of legislation and public commitments by the political leadership. However, the record of implementation leaves a great deal to be desired.”
The FNJ protests follow the attack on Khila Nath Dhakal, correspondent for the Nepali-language daily Nagarik, in Biratnagar.
Dhakal was attacked on June 5 by cadre of the Youth Force, an affiliate of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) which heads Nepal’s governing coalition, IFJ said in the release.
The attack is believed to have been in direct retribution for certain stories published by Dhakal on the involvement of a leader of the Youth Force in Biratnagar district, in certain unlawful activities in recent times. Following a meeting between the FNJ leadership and Nepal’s Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, two arrests have been made for the attack, though the person who allegedly ordered it is still at large.
Convictions in Uma Singh murder welcomed
The IFJ meanwhile welcomed the verdict by the Dhanusha District Court sentencing two to life in prison for the murder of Uma Singh, a reporter for Janakpur Today and Radio Janakpur, in January 2009.
The brutal murder led to nation-wide protests by the FNJ and international expressions of outrage. Local authorities quickly arrested five persons though the individual who allegedly ordered the killing has since remained elusive.
Lalita Singh and Nemlal Paswan have now been found guilty of the murder, while the three other accused, Shravan Yadav, Bimlesh Yadav and Akhilesh Singh, have been acquitted.
“We are encouraged by this verdict, which comes soon after the killers of the journalist Birendra Sah in October 2007 were found guilty and given life sentences by the district court in Bara,” Park said.
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