A demonstration has taken place in Kathmandu today demanding the immediate release of Nepali journalist Umakanta Pandey, who was imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Journalists have protested against the arrest of the local police on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Nepali embassy on January 8 for writing on the social network Facebook targeting the embassy about the distortion in the tourist visa for Nepal.
Former president of the UAE branch of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Bhupraj Basyal, said that the embassy had taken an irresponsible role in arresting Pandey on the basis of writing critical remarks about the embassy on social media.
Claiming that they had received evidence that embassy officials had played a role in detaining Pandey in a foreign land, he also demanded that action be taken against all those involved.
Jeevan Bhandari, general secretary of UNMI Nepal, an international organization of media persons, said that it was a matter of fear for all migrants around the world to be involved in the arbitrary arrest of their citizens by the ambassador assigned to assist Nepali nationals in foreign lands.
A court in the UAE has sentenced Pandey to pay a fine of around Rs 6.5 million, confiscate all his assets and deport him. Pandey's nephew Pitamber Bhusal informed that a review process is underway on behalf of Pandey.
Kiran Khanal, a central member of the Youth Congress and coordinator of the protest, said that the protest was organized to put pressure on the embassy in the UAE and the government of Nepal. He said that the sentence was given to the Nepali journalist by the UAE court on the basis of his 'status' while living in Nepal was against the universal recognition of freedom of expression and direct interference with freedom of expression.
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