“The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has a long tradition of harassing and attacking journalists,” said Bob Dietz, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator. “In the interest of full transparency, the authorities should carry out an open, nonpartisan investigation into this attack, followed by full prosecution of the perpetrators. Anything less will not reassure the Nepalese people or the rest of the world that Prime Minister Dahal’s government is committed to the free press necessary to ensure a democratic Nepal.”
About 50 cadres of CPN (Maoist) stormed into Himalmedia’s offices at Hattiban on Sunday and beat up journalists and staffers and vandalized the offices.
According to editors there, at least 12 people were injured during the attack.
CPJ further said that journalists have long been under attack in Nepal, with little or no investigation of their deaths. The country ranks eighth on CPJ’s Impunity Index, a list of 13 countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute the killers.