Journalist Abducted And Assaulted In Nepal

Journalist Abducted And Assaulted In Nepal
November 19, 2010

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is appalled to learn of the abduction and assault of Sushil Dhungana, publisher of the Ghodaghodi weekly in Nepal’s far-western district of Kailali on November 15.

According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), an IFJ affiliate, Dhungana was snatched while on his way from one district town to another by five persons on motorcycles. Dhungana was taken to an isolated spot in a community forest and his fingers slit with a blade. He was held for three hours and told by his captors that he was paying for what he had written.

Dhungana had published a news item on November 14 titled "Smuggling and Commission”, highlighting the increasing levels of corruption in the Kailali district, in Nepal’s southern plains bordering India.

“This is a brutal and appalling attack on Sushil Dhungana, a journalist reporting on a matter of public interest,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

“The IFJ joins its affiliates in Nepal in demanding investigation of this serious assault, and urges Nepali authorities to swiftly prosecute those responsible.”

ENDS

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