Nepal - June 2025

In June, Nepali police attempted to arrest prominent journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak for reporting on a government official's family business dealings overseas on his YouTube channel. The Kathmandu District Court issued an arrest warrant on 11 June under the Electronic Transaction Act, which is intended to regulate online transactions and combat money laundering. However, it has often been used to suppress online dissent. Although the Patan High Court blocked the arrest on 16 June, the police ignored the order and summoned Pathak the following day. On the same day the arrest warrant was issued, the Kathmandu District Court ordered two news outlets to remove content related to separate business dealings from another official under the same Act. Press freedom advocates warn that this situation illustrates a growing pattern of legal harassment and the misuse of laws to silence dissent.

Sources: IFJ, Human Rights Watch, Nepali Times, The Kathmandu Post (1) The Kathmandu Post (2)