Respect freedom of press and expression: Human Rights Commission
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The National Human Rights Commission has drawn the attention of the government to respect freedom of press and expression. The commission has also drawn attention to make the investigation against Kailash Sirohia, the chairman of Kantipur Media Group, fair.
Tikaram Pokharel, spokesperson of the Commission, issued a statement on Wednesday. Regarding the news being published and broadcast from various angles that the president of Kantipur Media Group, Sirohia, was arrested yesterday on the issue of citizenship and that arrest is connected to the news that has been continuously published in the media of Kantipur Group for a few days. It has been mentioned that the commission has received serious attention.
Regarding the incident, the team of the Central Office of the Commission visited Kantipur Publishing House and monitored it on Wednesday. The team deployed from Janakpur, Madhesh province office of the commission President Sirohia went to the police custody in Dhanusha and met him. Then, in the statement issued by the spokesperson Pokharel, it is-'The Commission urges the Government of Nepal to make the investigation fair by protecting the rights guaranteed by the international law in order to ensure an environment in which news can be published and broadcast in a fear-free environment while respecting the freedom of press and expression.'
The Commission has mentioned that freedom of press and expression and human rights are the cornerstones of democracy.
'In the preamble of the Constitution of Nepal, full freedom of the press has been ensured, while freedom of press and expression has been mentioned in Article 17 . Likewise, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19 of 1948 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 19 of 1966, to which Nepal is a party state, have protected freedom of thought and expression. It is the responsibility of the state to ensure and protect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Nepal, existing laws and international treaties to which Nepal is a party,' the commission said, 'in a criminal case, it is a matter of human rights to conduct a fair investigation with an evaluation of the evidence, considering the sufficient basis and reason for the nature and amount of the crime. Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 also guarantees the right to a fair hearing.
