Nepal media rights group demands release of jailed journalists

NEPAL: Media rights activists demanded Tuesday that Nepal's new government free three journalists jailed for criticizing King Gyanendra during his authoritarian rule, and scrap all laws used to crack down on a free press.

"We are demanding these journalists be immediately freed and all charges against them dropped," said Bishnu Nisthuri, president of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, an umbrella body of all media rights groups in the country.

Weeks of street protests last month forced the monarch - who seized direct control over the government on Feb. 1, 2005 - to give up powers, restore the parliament and appoint top opposition leader Girija Prasad Koirala as the prime minister.

Under Gyanendra's direct rule, the government strictly enforced media laws and imposed a ban on writing against the king and royal family and criticism of the security forces. It also prohibited independent reporting on the country's communist insurgency, imposing a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a fine of 500,000 rupees (US$7,000; euro5,800) on journalists and newspapers that violate the ban. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists said the laws should be scrapped.

Three journalists still remain in jail and have been charged by the previous government under anti-terrorism laws, accusing them of links with the rebels.

Kathmandu, Tuesday, AP