Media Figures Call for Release of Nepali Veteran journalist and Himal Editor Kanak Mani Dixit

Veteran journalist Kanak Mani Dixit was arrested by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority. (File Photo)

New Delhi, April 23 — Editors and media figures as well as intellectuals and scholars from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, UK, US, Australia and Sri Lanka have called for the release of Himal editor and prominent Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit who was arrested yesterday in Katmandu by anti-graft officials.

 

The following is the text of the statement: 

 

It is with deep concern that we have learned of the arrest today of Kanak Mani Dixit, the widely respected founder-editor of Himal Media and a courageous voice for transparency, freedom of expression and democratic rights in Nepal and across South Asia. The charges are related to alleged corruption but Kanak Dixit says it is part of a vendetta pursued against him by people in Government. 

 

We have known Kanak Dixit as a true professional, human rights defender and energetic journalist whose credentials are built on robust research and tremendous courage. Himal Media, a pioneer in South Asia journalism, has published Himal South  Asia,Asia, Nepali Times and Himal Kharar Patrika (in the Nepali language). He has written extensively for international media including leading newspapers in India&and is chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a state run transportation company, which he has been turning around from a loss-making entity. 

 

Kanak Dixit’s detention comes at a time of increased pressure on free media across South Asia. We call upon all national and international media organisations, individual journalists and editors, defenders of media under pressure, on those who believe in the freedom of expression, to seek Kanak Dixit’s immediate release and a fair and transparent trial, free of bias.

 

We call upon the Government of Nepal to issue a transparent and unequivocal statement on his detention for we are deeply concerned about his safety and rights. We condemn all forms of pressure tactics on editors like him and other courageous media figures such as Mahfuz Anam of the Daily Star in Dhaka, who is facing over 80 cases of sedition and libel in Bangladeshi courts, and other media persons who are committed to the rule of law and justice. 

 

Sanjoy Narayan, Editor, The Hindustan Times, new Delhi

Rajdeep Sardesai, Chief Editor, India Today TV Group, New Delhi

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founder Editor, The Wire, New Delhi

TN Ninan, Chairman, Business Standard Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

James Astill, Political Editor, The Economist

Maja Daruwala, Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi

Sevanti Ninan, editor, The Hoot, New Delhi

Salil Tripathi, Journalist and Author, London

Imtiaz Ahmed, Executive Director, RCSS, Colombo

Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star, Dhaka

Sara Hossein, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court 

Zafar Sobhan, Editor, Dhaka Tribune

Afsan Chowdhury, Senior Journalist, Bangladesh

Dr. Naila Zaman Khan, Professor of Child Neurology and Development, Bangladesh

Lubna Mariam, Cultural activist, Bangladesh

Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, Mumbai

Sanjib Baruah, Professor of Political Studies, Bard College, New York, US

Bina D’Costa, Australian National University

Pradip Phanjoubam, Editor, Imphal Free Press

Kamayani Bali Mahabal,  Independent Journalist , Mumbai

Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times

Seema Mustafa, Editor, The Citizen, New Delhi

Lalita Panicker, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Laxmi Murthy, Consulting Editor, Himal Southasian

Seema Guha, senior journalist (freelance), New Delhi

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, The Wire, New Delhi

Aruni Kashyap, Writer and Asst Professor of English, Ashoka University, Haryana

Dr. Xonzoi Barbora, TISS, Guwahati

Dr. Sanjeeb Kakoty, Associate Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Management Shillong

Dr. Anjuman Ara Begum, Forum-Asia, Katnmandu

Sanjoy Hazarika, independent columnist, New Delhi

Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai