Kishor Shrestha’s Arrest Draws Growing National and International Opposition, Calls Intensify for Immediate Release

Dragon Media Correspondent

Opposition to the arrest of Jana Aastha Weekly Editor-in-Chief and senior journalist Kishor Shrestha, along with police action at his residence and media office, has intensified at both national and international levels. Former prime ministers, senior political leaders, media organisations, human rights groups and an international association of press councils have called for his immediate release and urged the government to uphold press freedom.

The World Association of Press Councils (WAPC), an international body representing press councils and media self-regulatory institutions, has strongly condemned Shrestha’s arrest and demanded his immediate and unconditional release. Shrestha also serves as the second vice president of the WAPC.

In a statement issued from Nairobi, Kenya, WAPC President David Omwoyo said legitimate concerns involving privacy, accuracy and journalistic ethics must be taken seriously, but should be addressed through established legal, judicial and press-regulatory mechanisms. The organisation stressed that detention should not become a substitute for press regulation or judicial due process.

Prem Sagar Poudel, President of the Nepal-China Mutual Cooperation Society, has also expressed serious concern over Shrestha’s arrest and the police actions at his residence and media office.

Poudel said that if there are complaints or objections regarding published content, established laws, procedures and press-related institutions exist to investigate and resolve such matters. Bypassing those mechanisms to arrest a journalist and raid a media organisation, he said, runs counter to press freedom, the public’s right to information and democratic values.

“In a society governed by the rule of law, the state itself cannot stand above law and procedure,” Poudel said. He stressed that any necessary investigation must be impartial, evidence-based and conducted strictly in accordance with legal procedures rather than prejudice or a display of state power. He called for Shrestha’s immediate release and urged the government to fully respect press freedom, the rule of law and democratic norms.

Nepali Communist Party coordinator and former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” has also demanded Shrestha’s immediate release, saying that detaining a journalist over published news without following established procedures amounted to a mockery of democracy.

Former prime minister Jhala Nath Khanal has likewise called on the government to release Shrestha immediately.

Nepali Congress leader Dr Shekhar Koirala has said that Shrestha’s arrest runs contrary to the spirit of constitutionally guaranteed press and freedom of expression. He has urged the government to release him without delay and refrain from actions that could undermine press freedom.

CPN-UML General Secretary Shankar Pokhrel has also criticised the arrest, arguing that detaining a journalist merely for writing or publishing news is unlawful and contrary to press freedom.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party has similarly called for Shrestha’s release and said media organisations must be allowed to carry out their professional responsibilities without undue obstruction.

Press Council Nepal has already expressed serious concern over Shrestha’s arrest, the search of his residence and the seizure of computers and other media-related materials from the Jan Aastha office. The Federation of Nepali Journalists, Nepal Media Society and the Human Rights and Peace Society have also protested the action and demanded his release.

Journalists led by the Federation of Nepali Journalists staged a protest and sit-in outside the Kathmandu District Police Range office on Thursday.

Police, however, have said that Shrestha was arrested after a complaint alleging an offence under the Privacy Act, 2018, and that the arrest was carried out after obtaining judicial authorisation from the Kathmandu District Court.

Shrestha was taken into custody in Lalitpur on Wednesday evening. Police subsequently searched his residence and, on Thursday morning, the Jan Aastha office, where computers and other materials were seized.

The case has now moved beyond the detention of an individual journalist and developed into a broader national debate over press freedom, the right to privacy, the investigative authority of the state and the institutional mechanisms that should govern disputes arising from published journalistic content.

The common message emerging from national and international reactions is clear: journalism is not exempt from accountability, but accountability itself must be ensured through lawful, transparent and proportionate procedures that fully respect constitutional protections for press freedom.