Nepal police arrested Kamal Bista for his social media post on April 8. The incident took place in the federal capital, Kathmandu. According to the news published on a state-run media, The Rising Nepal, on April 10, Bista was arrested based on his Facebook status critical to the Chief of Police, Deepak Thapa. On Tuesday, Bista had posted about IGP Thapa’s alleged involvement in financial irregularities and demanded his suspension from the post. Bista was arrested from his residence in the mid-night, the story read. Moreover, Bista’s brother Biraj Bahadur Bista wrote on his Facebook post- “In the middle of the night while he was sleeping, police picketed the house and took Kamal Bista under control. He is also a Coordinator of Rastriya Shakti Nepal for Lalitpur district. He was held without arrest warrant, but simply for his Facebook post about the IGP. I strongly condemn this act." During a phone conversation with Freedom Forum (FF), the Crime Investigation Division of Nepal Police, however, claimed Bista was taken under control on charge of "Criminal mischief and organized crime". He is currently in detention at District Police Range, Bhadrakali. However, the Information Officer at the District Police Range declined to receive phone from FF. Freedom Forum condemns the arrest of an individual merely for a social media post. If he was arrested for his social media post, it is sheer violation of his right to freedom of expression. Further, if the post was defamatory, there are legitimate ways available to address the issue without infringing citizen’s fundamental freedom.
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.
