Kathmandu. The Press Council of Nepal has expressed serious objection to the incident where the police entered the newsrooms of various media outlets and tried to arrest the journalists.
After the office hours on Friday, plainclothes police entered the newsroom of the media and detained the journalists, the council said.
The council stated that it is a matter of serious objection to arrest the journalist for two consecutive days before the public holiday when the clear reason for the arrest was not revealed, the arrest warrant was not shown, the permission of the court was not taken and the matter of the criminal complaint was not clear.
The Council is of the opinion that this incident, which took place in the background of the statement issued by the Police Headquarters, raises serious questions about the freedom of the press and the professional safety of journalists.
According to the statement, the Press Council has the legal responsibility to investigate, monitor and report any disagreements or complaints related to the journalistic code of conduct regarding the news content published in the media. Instead of mobilizing the police on the issue of news itself, the government of Nepal, police administration and related parties have been urged to find a solution through the established methods and procedures of the council.
The Council has demanded that the condition of the detained journalists and the legal basis for their arrest be made public immediately. If they are detained without legal basis, they have also requested to be released immediately.
In addition, the Council has requested journalists and media to disseminate news based on truth and fully comply with journalistic code of conduct.