The Mass Communications Academy Madhes province has expressed its concern over the rise in the incidents of threats and harassment against working journalists in the province.
Issuing a press release on Tuesday, Academy Chairperson Shyam Sundar Yadav expressed concern on the incident wherein Bideha municipality mayor, Bechan Das, issued a threat of physical action against onlinekhabar journalist Shailendra Mahato over the news content.
It may be noted that mayor Das had intimidated journalist Mahato while the latter was covering the news related to the swearing-in of the newly-elected members of the province assembly on December 30.
The threat of physical action against the working journalists was against the freedom of the press and rule of law, reads the statement. "It is vehemently condemnable for the responsible authority such as the mayor of the municipality – who should work to defend and respect the press freedom – to publicly threat journalists covering news", the statement added.
Yadav in the statement urged the sides concerned to take legal action against the guilty party, enabling an environment for practicing fearless journalism and remaining alert for the safety of journalist Mahato.
