The Committee to Protect Journalists (CP) Asia has welcomed the release of Kantipur Media Group Chairman Kailash Sirohiya, who had been taken into police detention on May 21.

Nine days after his arrest from the office of Kantipur Media Group, police released him on Wednesday.

“CPJ welcomes the release of Kantipur Media Group chair Kailash Sirohiya following his May 21 arrest. Authorities’ determination that Sirohiya was no longer required in police custody for investigation into alleged citizenship irregularities strongly suggests that the chair has been targeted in retaliation for the media group’s critical reporting on Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane (@hamrorabi),” the global journalists body wrote on X on Friday. “We call on the Nepali government to respect #pressfreedom and to ensure that Kantipur Media Group may work without fear of reprisal.”

The CPJ, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), among other global media organisations had earlier condemned his arrest.