All four Radio Sagarmatha journos freed

Police authorities on Monday freed all four journalists working at Radio Sagarmatha, who were arrested during a police raid at the FM station on Sunday night.

Journalists Dipak Babu Aryal, Punya Bhandari, Dipak Raj Pandey and Rajendra Rijal were released from the Lalitpur District Police Office (DPO) at around 12:30 p.m., Radio Sagarmatha officials informed Nepalnews.

Authorities were compelled to free the journalists following intense pressure from national and international media rights groups and human rights organizations, they said.

Police officials had telephoned the FM officials this morning asking them to come to DPO and receive the journalists. Durga Karki, one of the five radio journalists arrested during the raid, was freed on Sunday night itself.

Dozens of journalists and human rights activists had staged protest in front of the DPO immediately after the raid on the FM station, which is the first community radio station in the South Asian region.

The station remains off air following the raid. nepalnews.com mk/by Nov 28 05

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