"It is clear that politics has been criminalized," Sanghera told a press meet in Biratnagar Thursday.[brak]
"The degree of criminalization of politics may vary at places, but it is more or less prevalent everywhere.” She reiterated that she would take up the issue of impunity resulting from criminalization of politics with top-level leaders in Kathmandu.
“Many here have told me that political forces are protecting criminals and sheltering the perpetrators,” she said, adding, “I have been told that people are able to make threats and use violence because they know that they will not be punished.”
During her two-day visit to Biratnagar, Sanghera interacted with police officers, journalists and human rights activists.
Before flying back to Kathmandu, she said, “People have expressed satisfaction with the professionalism displayed by Nepali police in responding to the threats and attacks directed at journalists.”
A team of OHCHR-N led by Sanghera had gone to Biratnagar to assess the state of insecurity faced by journalists in the wake of a string of recent attacks and threats mainly by the cadres of Youth Force (YF), the youth wing of CPN-UML.
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