Three dozen press violation incidents reported throughout the year

Media under Threat: Trends and Cases of Press Freedom in Nepal report was published by Media Action Nepal on  Friday on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day. The report has discovered 34 cases of press violation incidents between May 4, 2023 and May 3, 2024.

Media Action Nepal's report has examined the current status of constitutionally guaranteed rights such as press freedom and freedom of expression. The cases documented and data categorised based on Media Action Nepal's seven indicators, including threats, killings, illegal arrest, Misuse of Law, Seizure of Equipment, Newsroom Harassment and Information blockage, clearly show that the year was unsatisfactory in terms of press freedom, with nearly three dozen cases of press freedom violations reported. Over 79 per cent journalists were threatened while reporting, writing or gathering information.

Furthermore, journalists were forced to change careers due to the Working Journalists Act (WJA)’s poor implementation, or they were subjected to censorship or content compromise. Nepal's WJA stipulates a minimum salary that media houses must pay their editorial staff. 

However, in reality, this salary table is rarely followed when paying journalists. Because of this, the profession is not financially rewarding, which puts pressure on journalists' independence and ethical standards, according to report.  Several women journalists left the profession, although we got data on only 29 women journalists leaving journalism. 

Similarly, it has also underscored that journalists reporting on the environment often face threats. A photojournalist, R.K. Adipta Giri, was illegally arrested in Parbat district on charge of cybercrime, while the reason for the arrest was something else related to the Save Kaligandaki movement.

 This year's World Press Freedom Day theme is Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis. It is crucial that the significance of journalists working in the environmental sector be enhanced and secured.

 Likewise, the report has also examined the state of impunity. It found that so far, only five journalists, 39 from conflict era times, have gotten justice.

Additionally, the ban was imposed on TikTok in November, saying it was disrupting "social harmony" and goodwill and blaming it for a "flow of indecent materials." Authorities ordered the telecom company to block access to the app. Similarly, the Social Media Bill (SMB) of the Government of Nepal (GoN) tabled in the Upper House threatens the fundamental rights to freedom of expression (FoE) and online civic space guaranteed under the Constitution of Nepal. The bill, if implemented in its current form, could jeopardise these constitutional guarantees and is deemed incompatible with international human rights instruments that Nepal has ratified. 

The report has claimed that, although it seems that there were fewer incidents of press violations compared to last year, the violations kept occurring, especially from authorities curbing press freedom.

This report is important to understand the trend of press freedom violations and the major incidents. Furthermore, it focuses on impunity, environmental issues and labour rights violations.

Media Action Nepal vice chair Priyanka Jha said, “This report could be useful to every individual who wants to understand the media freedom landscape in Nepal. The trends analysed and cases recorded cover the period of May 4, 2023, to April, 2024