KATHMANDU, May 22: The US Embassy in Kathmandu has called for ensuring press freedom in Nepal.

Issuing a statement on Wednesday, the embassy emphasized the importance of press freedom in Nepal. This comes in the wake of the arrest of Kailash Sirohiya, chairman of Kantipur Media Group (KMG), on Tuesday.

The statement says that freedom of press, accountability, and transparency are guiding principles for the United States as they continue to work towards “a more perfect union.” 

“We expect that as Nepal continues to shape its hard-won democracy, the Government and people of Nepal will also have a meaningful dialogue about how to ensure good governance, freedom of the press, and people’s fundamental rights,” reads the statement.

Earlier on Tuesday, KMG Chairman Sirohiya had issued a statement alleging that the arrest warrant against him was an attempt to stop news reporting and divert attention from the cooperative fraud case that the media house has been covering and affirmed his readiness to cooperate with the investigation.

A police team led by SSP Sanuram Bhattarai and SP Rabindra Regmi of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office had reached the KMG headquarters at Thapathali and arrested Sirohiya on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier, Chairman Sirohiya had also approached the Supreme Court demanding the cancellation of the arrest warrant issued by the District Court, Dhanusha in a case related to citizenship misuse.

A complaint was filed at the District Police Office, Dhanusha, alleging that Sirohiya had taken two different citizenship certificates of Nepal. Dhanusha police said that his citizenship number and another person's citizenship number were the same.

 
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