You can be arrested in Nepal for using Facebook!

I learned about the harsh reality of being a journalist in Nepal today. The journalists in Nepal are at huge threat of being arrested at any time by the Nepalese police. Why so? This is because of the law of the electronic transaction act. If any person or journalist writes something or produces something that offends anyone then he or she can be arrested on complaint by the person who is offended. This is ridiculous because anything that we write may offend anyone. It is not certain that something we write or produce will be liked by everyone.

You did not know about that law did you? Neither did I. If somebody writes an article in his blog from Nepal about Rohit Chand missing his goal and criticising him then police can arrest the writer upon the complaint of Mr. Chand. Don’t believe me? Ask the President of the Press Council of Nepal. Anyone who produces something electronically i.e. online, TV or radio is liable to such punishment and responsible for his or her words.

So, do you still think that Nepal has press freedom? Do you still drink that it is free for all in Nepal? Do you think that there was no repercussion of using social media in Nepal? Do you think there is no bad news when you like a joke about a politician? Well about this fact I was made aware today that recently police started searching for the 46 people who liked the status of some journalist who wrote a critical status about some female politician. I am not disclosing the names here because I might be arrested if that person reports me to police if I write his or her name.

I am writing about this today because I attended a workshop session about “Safety of Journalists in Nepal” by UNESCO. There were more than 40 other journalists there and most of us were shocked by our findings and information we shared. The scariest fact was about the electronic information exchange act. So, as a blogger who is worried about his audience I wanted make you aware about the situation.

The Council president did say that the Council is lobbying to change the rule and fit to our times. That does provide assurance but what about now? What about the thousands of Nepalese who do not know this law and are at risk of going to jail at any moment. They may not even know what charge they might be put into custody for.

So, my suggestion right now is simple. BE CAREFUL!