The Gen-Z Journalist Forum Nepal on Friday demanded the immediate release of journalists Bishwamani Suvedi and Baral, objecting to Nepal Police’s detention and pursuit of journalists over published news. In a press statement, the Forum also condemned plainclothes police action at the offices of Naya Patrika and Diyopost.com, and called for an end to interference with press freedom in Nepal.
Forum objects to police action
The Forum said it strongly objected to police action against journalists over news they had published. Its statement focused on the custody of Suvedi, who works for the daily newspaper Naya Patrika, and Baral, whose release it also demanded. The Forum called for both journalists to be freed immediately.
Suvedi was taken into custody at his office, according to the statement as reported by Khabarhub and Ratopati. The Forum’s objection was not limited to the detention. It also raised concern about police pursuing journalists in connection with published news, and demanded that such interference stop.
The statement did not present the Forum’s demand as a request for a review at a later date: it called for the journalists’ immediate release. It also urged an end to police interference with press freedom, connecting the cases of Suvedi and Baral with the broader issue of journalists facing police action over their reporting.
Condemnation of action at media offices
The Forum separately condemned plainclothes police action at the offices of Naya Patrika and Diyopost.com. Its statement named both media organizations, highlighting the presence of police at their workplaces alongside the detention of Suvedi at Naya Patrika’s office.
By raising the office actions in the same statement as its demand for the journalists’ release, the Forum underscored its objection to police conduct involving both individual journalists and media workplaces. It called for an immediate end to what it described as interference with press freedom.
The Forum’s position, as reported by the two outlets, was that journalists should not face detention or pursuit over published news. Its statement called on police to release Suvedi and Baral and to stop actions that the Forum considers an infringement on press freedom. The reports did not provide further details about the police actions or the circumstances involving Baral.
The Forum’s demand places the focus on two immediate outcomes: the release of the journalists and an end to police interference with the press. It also brings attention to the reported plainclothes police action at the offices of Naya Patrika and Diyopost.com, which the organization explicitly condemned.
