Arrest threatens Nepal’s status as a bastion of free expression

In a region that is drifting towards authoritarianism from one country to another, the small Himalayan state of Nepal is a shining exception.

Political debate remained largely free, and those in power could easily be challenged. This openness, in a poor country emerging from centuries of monarchical oppression and decades of turmoil, demonstrated that democratic expression need not necessarily correlate with economic status.

But the arrest of the owner of the country’s largest media conglomerate last month has raised concerns about the Nepali government’s commitment to free speech and whether the country is now following the same path as its South Asian neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.

Chief Minister Kailash Sirohiya was arrested nearly two weeks ago in a thinly veiled act of retaliation by Nepal’s powerful Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane. The minister has been the subject of extremely negative coverage by the Kantipur Media Group, which is owned by Mr Sirohiya.

The company’s news articles had revealed that Mr. Lamichhane, a popular television presenter before turning to politics, had broken the law by sitting in Parliament while holding citizenship of a second country, the United States.

Mr Lamichhane resigned but returned to Parliament and to the helm of the Home Ministry months later after addressing the citizenship issue. However, Kantipur continued to investigate Mr Lamichhane’s actions and later reported allegations of embezzlement against him.

The media group was not the only one to publish critical reports about Mr Lamichhane, but it has the widest reach. The company owns Kantipur, the largest-circulation Nepali-language newspaper, and its English-language sister publication The Kathmandu Post, as well as television and radio stations and magazines.

Authorities arrested Mr Sirohiya “out of vindictiveness,” said Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of a news website in Nepal. “The government has sent a message: If you criticize the government, you will be silenced.”

The manner in which Mr Sirohiya was arrested suggests that he was deliberately targeted.

Someone filed a complaint claiming that Mr Sirohiya had a citizenship number – every Nepalese is given one – that was identical to his own. While such an allegation is serious, there are already many cases of irregularities in Nepal’s secretive citizenship system, including involving judges and generals.

The difference in Mr Sirohiya’s case is that he was arrested and detained before the facts were established. In previous cases, investigations were first carried out to determine whether the problem was due to a clerical error or some misconduct such as forgery.

On May 21, dozens of police officers led by a senior police commissioner arrived at the Kantipur offices and loaded Mr Sirohiya into a van. He was driven overnight from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Dhanusha, a district bordering India, where he remained in custody until Thursday.

During a trip to the region, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard visited Kathmandu and criticised the government’s decision to detain Mr Sirohiya, saying the charges did not require this.

The target of Kantipur’s critical reporting is Mr. Lamichhane, the home minister in a coalition government involving several parties. Mr. Sirohiya’s arrest, analysts said, shows unity among the parties in their view of the free press as a thorn in their side. The delicate balance that has shaped Nepal could now be tipped in favor of the political class, they said.

Santosh Pariyar, a leader of Mr. Lamichhane’s Rastriya Swatantra party, rejected any suggestion that the arrest was revenge for critical reporting. He said it was “pure coincidence” that Mr. Lamichhane “came to the conclusion” that Mr. Sirohiya had violated Nepal’s citizenship laws.

“We know how important the press is for democracy,” said Mr Pariyar.

Nevertheless, the arrest had a chilling effect and raised fears that the country could return to dark times that it had seemingly left behind.

During the monarchy, which ended in 2008 after the last king, Gyanendra Shah, was forced to overthrow by protests, the press was censored and journalists were frequently imprisoned.

But Nepal’s new constitution, which established a parliamentary democracy, guaranteed full freedom of the press. A vibrant civil society resisted every attempt to restrict freedom of expression and continued to loudly demand accountability from those in power.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, known as Prachanda, one of the Maoist rebels who sought to overthrow the monarchy, is now the prime minister and head of the coalition in which Lamichhane serves as a minister. Even some of Dahal’s former supporters have criticised him for Sirohiya’s arrest.

“I am ashamed that Prachanda is following Gyanendra’s path after taking King’s place,” Baburam Bhattarai, a former Maoist leader and prime minister, wrote on X.

Mujib Mashal reported from New Delhi.