Journalists Manoj Mourbait and Sibendra Rohita were attacked on April 18 (Friday) at 8 PM on Kohalpur of Sahitnagar Municipality-9, Dhanusha. The duo journalists were assaulted by a gang of five on their way home from reporting about the COVID-19. Their laptop and camera were also seized. Dhanusha district lies in province no. 2. Mourbait and Rohita are reporters to Janakpur Today and www.khojkendra.com (a web-based news portal) operated from Dhanusha district. According to FF's representative Rajan Singh, a group of five people beat the duo which resulted in a deep cut in the head of journalist Rohita. Maurbait has also sustained injury due to the beating. Furthermore, they pointed towards Mayor Udaya Barbariya of Sahidnagar municipality who ordered such an attack. The duo has been admitted in Janakpur Zonal Hospital. Rohita said, "On Friday we were making a report about the Quarantine facility of Sahid Nagar. These facilities are in a worrisome state with no proper service in place." To learn about the municipality's position on this issue, they visited the municipality office. Shortly after that, he ordered to launch an attack. In the past too, the mayor Barbariya had threatened the Journalist Mourbait for writing news against his administration. The duo had been disclosing about the mismanagement of funds by the Barbariya's administration. Freedom Forum vehemently condemns the use of force on journalist in the time of crisis, resulting in serious injury. The duo was actively reporting in the time of crisis to help the state which would ultimately help to make strong administrative measures. Attacking the duo reporting about such sensitive issues at this time is a shameful act. Hence, FF strongly urges the local administration and security authority to fairly investigate the case and punish the perpetrators thereby, ensuring a secure atmosphere for journalists. For more information, Freedom Forum monitoring@freedomforum.org.np 01-4102030/ 4102022
Freedom Forum is a prominent non-governmental organization in Nepal dedicated to institutionalizing democracy, protecting and promoting human rights, press freedom, freedom of expression, right to information, promoting audit accountability, open and accountable budget, public finance reforms, citizen engagement in public finance management and citizen participation in audit. Established in February 2005, the organization emerged in response to the political turmoil following Former King Gyanendra’s coup dated February 1, 2005, which imposed severe restrictions on media and democratic rights. A group of media professionals, legal experts, and academics founded Freedom Forum to safeguard Nepal’s hard-earned democratic freedoms during this repressive period.
