Freedom Forum lauds arrest of another murder convict of Journalist Birendra Sah today (September 10) in Bara district. Nepal Police arrested convict Hare Ram Patel from his residence in Mahagadhimai Municipality, Bara. The district lies in Province 2 of Nepal. Journalist Birendra Saha was a reporter with Avenues TV, Dristi weekly and Nepal FM. He was first abducted by the cadres of the then rebel Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on October 5, 2007 from Pipara of Bara district. Journalist Sah then was found dead at Dumarwana VDC Ward No 7 of the same district after a month of abduction on November 8, 2007. Among five convicts of the murder as declared by the court, two – Ram Ekwal Sahani and Myanejar Giri – were sentenced life imprisonment by the District Court Bara. Narendra Kumar Faujdar (Kundan) was arrested from his own residence at Baragadhi Rural Municipality, Bara on March 7, 2019. After the arrest of Patel, one of the accused Lal Bahadur Chaudhary is still absconding. According to the Police, Patel will be presented at the court demanding life sentence with compensation. FF praises the success of Nepal Police to book the convicts catering justice to victims’ families. FF further urges the concerned authority to continue investigation and address remaining cases of impunity for crimes against journalists. For more information, Freedom Forum monitoring@freedomforum.org.np
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.
