Editors of mainstream media on Wednesday said Chairman of Kantipur Media Group Kailash Sirohiya was arrested with the intent to create pressure and fear on the press.
In a joint letter to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, they said the context and the allegations levelled against Sirohiya and the modus operandi of his arrest have raised serious questions.
“We have taken the arrest from inside a media house as intended to create pressure and fear on the press. The government agencies have never interrogated Sirohiya about the allegations,” reads the letter to the prime minister by 31 editors of different media outlets.
They said Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has been attacking the media with animosity after the media continuously reported on around one billion rupees misappropriated by Lamichhane and Gorkha Media Network, where he was one of the partners.
“We also want to draw the prime minister’s attention to this matter and remind you that it is your responsibility to ensure that the police investigation against Lamichhane moves ahead and builds an environment for prosecuting the case against him impartially,” they said.
The editors said they are well aware of press freedom, the rule of law, and their responsibilities, adding they will not compromise when it comes to defending them and fulfilling their responsibilities.
Editors’ joint letter to prime minister
Right honourable prime minister
We editors working at major media outlets in Nepal want to draw your attention to a recent case of arrest from a media house:
Police arrested Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kailash Sirohiya from his office on Tuesday. All citizens should equally abide by the laws of the land and Sirohiya should be punished as per the law if he has done anything against it. Sirohiya himself has publicly said that he is ready for that.
The context and the allegations levelled against him and the modus operandi of his arrest have raised serious questions. We have taken the arrest from inside a media house as intended to create pressure and fear on the press. The government agencies have never interrogated Sirohiya about the allegations. Yesterday he was suddenly arrested over some technical issues of his citizenship certificate. This issue will now be resolved by the court.
Mr Prime Minister, we want to remind you—Rabi Lamichhane was not a Nepali citizen when he first became home minister in your Cabinet. Though he reacquired Nepal’s citizenship following a court order, he was and is someone who can be punished for simultaneously holding passports of two countries.
We also want to make it clear why Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane has recently been attacking the media with animosity. The problem of cooperative fraud has become severe. Billions of rupees deposited by millions of Nepalis in cooperatives have been misappropriated, and they have not received their own deposits back. Media has continuously reported on around one billion rupees misappropriated by Rabi Lamichhane and Gorkha Media Network, where Lamichhane was one of the partners.
While addressing a Parliament meeting, he claimed that he was a victim of a ‘media trial’. However, investigations conducted at the municipal level and by Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) have established that he and the media company he managed embezzled cooperative funds. The home minister has prevented prosecution and the filing of charges against him by abusing power. We also want to draw the prime minister’s attention to this matter and remind you that it is your responsibility to ensure that the police investigation against Lamichhane moves ahead and builds an environment for prosecuting the case against him impartially.
5. We editors, who have been working in Nepali media for a long time, are well aware of press freedom, rule of law and our responsibilities. And we also want to make it clear that we won’t make any compromise when it comes to defending them and fulfilling our responsibilities.
Akhanda Bhandari, Annapurna Post
Ameet Dhakal, Setopati
Arun Baral, Khabarhub
Basanta Basnet, Onlinekhabar
Bijay Paudel, Kantipur TV
Bimal Gautam, Lokaantar
Biswas Baral, The Kathmandu Post
Durga Khanal, Ekantipur
Gunaraj Luintel, Nagarik
Hari Bahadur Thapa, Baahrakhari
Kamal Dev Bhattarai, The Annapurna Express
Kiran Nepal, Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal
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