Kathmandu, June 19: The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged the Government of Nepal to immediately drop all legal actions taken against journalists and media organizations. The federation emphasized the need to uphold press freedom and safeguard the rights of independent and critical journalism. It warned that prosecuting journalists and media for reporting on issues of public interest contradicts democratic principles and Nepal’s constitutional protections for a free press.

These legal cases stem from a complaint by Santosh Narayan Shrestha, Chairperson of the Securities Board of Nepal (SEBON), following investigative reports that exposed alleged misconduct within the board. In its statement, the IFJ specifically called on the authorities to withdraw cases filed against news portals Bizmandu and Nepal Khabar, along with senior journalist Dilbhusan Pathak. On June 10, the Kathmandu District Court ordered both media outlets to remove stories related to alleged SEBON irregularities, while also issuing an arrest warrant for Pathak in a defamation case.

People’s News Monitoring Service