Based on information provided to IPI, on 8 June, police arrested some 50 journalists in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. The arrests came after journalists marched in protest through streets close to the royal palace.

The protests allegedly follow the decision of the Nepalese Supreme Court to reverse a closure order issued by the Ministry for Information and Communications against the media centre Communications Corner. In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court declared the actions of the Ministry to be illegal.

Communications Corner provides community programming to between 14 and 50 radio stations around the country. It went to court to reverse the decision of the Ministry after receiving a closure order on 27 May.

The arrests follow other protests by journalists against repressive restrictions on reporting news passed by King Gyanendra in the face of the on-going Maoist insurgency. On 7 June, journalists in Biratnagar, an industrial city and Nepal’s second largest, protested by using loudspeakers to read out 15 minute news bulletins. Other media protests are expected elsewhere in what has been described by organisers as a 17-day protest programme against the King’s actions.

Speaking about the mass arrests, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said, “Having been denied the right to practice their profession, journalists are now being denied the right to free association. The decision to arrest and detain these journalists provides further disturbing evidence of the deteriorating situation in the country.”

“I call on the King to release the journalists immediately and to put an end to the restrictions on the media that have led to nearly 2,000 journalists losing their jobs. I would also remind the King that the best antidote to the present situation in the country is more speech and greater discussion; improvements will not be achieved by silencing the media and arresting journalists.”