Nepal Police arrested Birat Manandhar from Syangja on April 3 for commenting on a Facebook post. Manandhar is also a member of Nepal Students’ Union, Syangja. Syangja lies in Gandaki province of Nepal.
According to FF’s representative from Gandaki Province Rajan Upadhyay, Manandhar was arrested from his residence today for writing a comment on Facebook post about local road construction.
Representative Upadhyaya quoted Chief of District Police Bamiraj Kandel as saying discussion on the case is ongoing.
Also, Manandhar’s comment has been deleted after his arrest.
Freedom Forum condemns the arrest of a citizen as it is a severe violation of freedom of expression. Nepal’s constitution itself guarantees its citizen’s right to freedom of expression. Such action of Nepal Police has not only threatened rights to freedom of expression but also tried to silence public speaking against social irregularities. Hence, FF urges the concerned authority to respect civil rights and demands the immediate release of Manandhar.
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Freedom Forum
monitoring@freedomforum.org.np