There was “spectacular abuse of press freedom” in Nepal in 2002 after a violent uprising by Maoist rebels prompted the government to declare a state of emergency and introduce sweeping anti-terrorism legislation in November 2001, agencies reported from New York.

Hundreds of Nepali journalists were detained and 16 were formally incarcerated in 2002 as press freedom and other civil liberties were effectively suspended, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its annual report released Monday. nepalnews.com br April 1