Police on Wednesday have arrested more than two dozen journalists from Bhrikuti Mandap in Kathmandu as they were protesting against the police atrocities and demanding total press freedom in the country.
Those arrested include Mahendra Bista, general secretary of Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), central committee members, Ramji Dahal and Binod Pahadi and journalists Rajendra Aryal, Krishna Humagain, Shyam Basnet, Chetnath Dhamla, Dambar Giri, Dev Raj Rimal, Ishwori Wagle, Ranjan Poudel, Surya Neupane, Nirmala Sharma, Sita Ram Baral, Kishore Shrestha and Bharat Raj Pokhrel among others.
According to FNJ, the demonstration was organised by the Kathmandu district committee of the FNJ against the government attack on media and freedom of expression.
Issuing a press release, the FNJ strongly condemned the arrest of journalists and asked for their immediate release.
Meanwhile, around 200 professionals including at least 21 journalists were arrested from Pokhara on Wednesday.
The arrested journalists include Gangadhar Parajuli, Vice-President of FNJ, Badri Binod Pratik, former vice president, FNJ and Rabindra Bastola, president, FNJ-Kaski Chapter among others.
They were arrested from a peaceful protest organized by Professional Alliance for Peace and Democracy (PAPAD) against the government imposition of curfew and restriction order on demonstration. nepalnews.com pb Apr 12 06