Kathmandu, December 31
The Federation of Nepali Journalists, the umbrella organisation of Nepali journalists, has reported an increase in the number of press freedom violations in 2021.
In a statement on Friday, the organisation’s General Secretary Roshan Puri says 190 journalists and four media houses suffered from these incidents in the period. The federation has recorded 62 incidents of press freedom violations in 2021.
Here is the breakdown of the incidents of violations:
| SN | Incident | Number | Journalists affected (Men) | Journalists affected (Women) | Media affected |
| 1 | Arrest and detention | 4 | 9 | 1 | – |
| 2 | Obstruction | 10 | 30 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | Threat and abuse | 32 | 39 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Attack | 5 | 5 | – | – |
| 5 | Professional insecurity | 10 | 91 | 7 | – |
| 6 | Policy restrictions | 1 | – | – | |
| Total | 62 | 174 | 16 | 4 |
In the previous year (2020), the federation had reported only 52 incidents of violations.
Meanwhile, the federation also informs 21 journalists in Nepal died of Covid-19 this year whereas around 350 lost jobs due to Covid-19-induced financial troubles.
The federation also commented that some local and provincial as well as federal governments have made efforts to introduce laws that would curtail press freedom.
