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KRISHNA SEN |
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KRISHNA SEN |
Free At Last Thanks to the court, a dissenting journalist is finally free By A CORRESPONDENT Editor of Janadesh weekly, Krishna Sen, could not believe that he was back to the business at his office. After spending more than two-years in jail on fabricated charges, Sen was finally released from Mahottari district prison last week under intense pressure from the media community, both within the country and abroad.
Police had taken Sen into custody as soon as he was released released from Rajbiraj prison last Tuesday as per the Supreme Court order on March 8. The Federation of Nepalese Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York based media rights watchdog and several rights organizations denounced the government move to re-arrest Mr. Sen. Police had first arrested Sen in Kathmandu in April, 1999, and detained him under provisions of the Public Security Act. The arrest came after that week's edition of the weekly featured an interview with Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, a top Maoist leader. The Supreme Court first ordered Sen's release on August 10, the same year. But according to his attorney, Yekraj Bhandari, police and district officials conspired to keep the journalist in detention by forging release papers and then "re-arresting" him days' later on false charges. In February 2000, Sen was secretly transferred to the southeastern district of Siraha. Authorities then charged him with carrying illegal weapons under the provisions of the Arms and Ammunitions Act. In August last year, Sen was transferred yet again, this time to Rajbiraj jail. Legal proceedings in Sen's case were postponed repeatedly throughout 2000. Early this month, the Supreme Court of Nepal ruled his detention illegal and ordered his release. "I will continue to write for the sake of people and country," said Sen upon arriving in Kathmandu. |
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