By: Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press Writer (AP) Some journalists who have written about rebels trying to overthrow the government in Nepal have been tortured after illegal arrests under emergency rule, a New York-based media rights group said Thursday.
"We are alarmed by the arrest of journalists in Nepal who are tortured, blindfolded, and even threatened with death while in custody," said Josh Friedman of the Committee to Protect Journalists at a news conference. "This has no place in a democracy like Nepal."
Members of the advocacy group spent two weeks visiting journalists in Nepal who have been detained by the authorities, and they also spoke to others worried about press freedoms.
After the guerrillas broke a cease-fire in November and resumed attacks on government forces, Nepal imposed emergency rule that suspended constitutional guarantees of free expression and prohibitions against prior restraint.
More than 100 journalists have been detained by the police and two dozen are still in custody, according to the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, an umbrella group of Nepalese media organizations.
"We met many journalists who had been detained and discovered that there was a pattern of abuse suggesting there was an order from the top authorities to torture journalists in detention," said Kavita Menon, also with the journalists' protection group.
"The journalists' arrests have created a climate of fear, and self-censorship is widespread. Journalists described being literally abducted by security forces and held incommunicado, without charge," the group said.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities arrest only rebels and their supporters. The official refused to discuss specific allegations.
The government has warned that those found guilty of aiding acts of terrorism can face life in prison.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders recently called Nepal the largest jail for journalists in the world.
Police say some journalists have been arrested on suspicion of helping the rebels, who have fought since 1996 to replace Nepal's constitutional monarchy with a communist state. More than 3,500 people have died in the fighting.
Authorities said the journalists have published fabricated reports and false stories intended to spread rumors against the security agencies.
On the Net:
Committee to Protect Journalists Web site, http://www.cpj.org
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