KATHMANDU: At least three journalists detained during police operations at newsrooms in Kathmandu were released late Saturday following mounting criticism from media organisations, rights groups and civil society.
The journalists were freed after Prime Minister Balendra Shah directed the authorities to release them, according to the government. Minister for Information and Communication Technology Bikram Timilsina also confirmed the release and said the government remained committed to protecting press freedom.
“All the arrested journalists have been released. The government remains fully committed to press freedom,” Timilsina said in a social media post, stressing that press freedom and responsible journalism are essential to democracy.
The detentions began earlier in the day when plainclothes police officers visited several media offices and sought journalists involved in recent investigative reports.
Bishwamani Subedi of Nepal Press was taken from his newsroom in New Baneshwor and reportedly brought to the Cyber Bureau in connection with a report concerning Nepal Police Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki. The report had claimed that the government was considering removing Karki from his position and that the police chief was seeking legal advice.
According to Nepal Press, three plainclothes officers who identified themselves as members of the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office entered the newsroom and asked Subedi to accompany them. The officers reportedly did not produce an arrest warrant.
Shobhraj Baral, chairman and editor-in-chief of Motive News, was also detained from his office in Anamnagar. A colleague said five plainclothes officers showed their identification before taking Baral away but did not provide written details explaining the detention.
Dhiraj Basnet of DNA Khabar was another journalist detained during the police operation.
Police teams also visited other news organisations, raising concerns among journalists about a wider crackdown linked to recent investigative reporting.
At Naya Patrika’s Putalisadak office, four plainclothes officers reportedly arrived looking for reporter Navaraj Mainali and sought to take him to the Cyber Bureau. News Editor Khagendra Pant said the officers did not present warrants and stayed at the newsroom for more than two hours.
The officers eventually instructed Mainali to appear at the Cyber Bureau at 10 am the following day rather than taking him immediately.
The incident came a day after Naya Patrika published an investigative report concerning alleged WhatsApp conversations involving Supreme Court Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal and Inam Sapkota. Police did not clarify whether the visit was related to the report.
Meanwhile, plainclothes officers also went to the Diyo Post newsroom in Anamnagar in search of Editor-in-Chief Sudip Bishwakarma and News Coordinator Madan Dhungana. The media outlet had recently reported receiving threats following its coverage of issues involving the judiciary.
The police actions prompted strong reactions from press freedom advocates and civil society groups, who questioned the legality of entering newsrooms and detaining journalists without presenting warrants.
As criticism intensified, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said neither Prime Minister Shah nor his Cabinet had been informed about the police operations beforehand.
Prime Minister’s press and research adviser Dipa Dahal said the prime minister and his secretariat had no prior involvement in the detentions.
According to Dahal, Shah ordered the immediate release of the detained journalists after learning about the incidents and instructed security agencies to stop questioning them and refrain from entering media offices to carry out such actions.
The developments have renewed debate over the balance between law enforcement investigations and the constitutional protection of press freedom in Nepal.
