freedom1 Forum hails a decision come in favour of working journalist. The Appellate Court, Lalitpur, on April 25, 2012, fined Rs 15,000 to the government as compensation to journalist Sita Ram Parajuli associated with the Jwala Weekly, for detaining and giving mental torture. A joint bench of Justices duo Tank Bahadur Moktan and Sushma Lata Mathema delivered the verdict as per the clause 6 (1) of Torture Act 2053BS in response to the Supreme Court's direction on 3 November 2009 to consider again the decision it made on 18 June 2004 to scrap the case filed by journalist Parajuli demanding compensation. First, journalist Parajuli had demanded compensation from the government filing a case in the Kathmandu District Court on 28 November 2002, reasoning it illegally detained him and tortured mentally during 2002 royal takeover. The court decision laudable because it has advocated the rights of journalists, who are real needs to a democracy. freedom1 Forum had provided legal facilitation to journalist Parajuli.
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.
