Nepal: Press freedom at risk under new government while still lack of accountability for protest violations

The state of civic space in Nepal is rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Documented violations of fundamental freedoms include the targeting of journalists, including through harassment, attacks and criminalisation and arbitrary arrests and the use of excessive force with impunity during protests.

On 5th March 2026, the party of rapper and ex-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah won a clear majority, in the general election. The Rastriya Swatantra Party’s (RSP) victory marks the first time in decades that a single party has garnered a majority in Nepal, which has a two-system format that makes it difficult for any one party to win outright. The snap election was held six months after deadly youth protests toppled the government in September 2025.

The RSP won a total of 182 seats in the 275-seat parliament, just two seats shy of a two-thirds super majority. The Nepali Congress came in second with 38 seats, while the Communist Party of Nepal UML (CPN-UML) was third with 25. On 27th March 2026, Balendra Shah was sworn in as Nepal’s youngest-ever prime minister

In a strong first move by the new government, former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli was arrested the day after Shah’s swearing-in ceremony, following recommendations from a commission set up to investigate the deadly police crackdown on protests in September 2025. Former home minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested for the suppression of the protests.

The three-member Karki Commission – formed to probe the September 2025 – was submitted to interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki on 8 March 2026. It has yet to be made public but according to leaked sources. The report confirms 76 deaths: 42 from police firing (mostly protesters), 3 police killed by mobs, and the rest during looting. It recommended criminal proceedings against then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and IGP Chandra Kuber Khapung for negligence leading to deaths, Lower-level officials, including some police, face 3-year terms. It flags failure to deploy non-lethal options, lack of de-escalation strategy, and political pressure on security forces. It also recommended compensation for victims’ families and injured band police reforms.

Human rights groups called on the new Nepal government to to bring those responsible for human rights violations during the Gen Z protest to justice, release unpublished official reports on previous incidents of lethal violence against popular movements dating back to 1990, and implement recommendations by the National Human Rights Commission to appropriately prosecute people against whom there is sufficient evidence of human rights abuses and violations amounting criminal conduct.

On 27th May 2026, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal publicised recommendations it has provided to the Nepal government in relation to the protests. Recommendations was to investigate Karki, the chair of the other commission, for his social media posts of 9th September 2025 which could have contributed to fanning the violence. It recommended that the government undertake detailed investigations on the role of several individuals, including 17 sitting members of parliament representing the governing RSP,

The UN Human Rights Council adopted Nepal’s Universal Periodic Review report on 1st July 2026. The government supported recommendations to ensure that journalists, activists and civil society can exercise their rights without fear of prosecution, harassment or surveillance and to refrain from excessive use of force by security agencies, and conduct impartial investigations into protest-related violence, ensuring accountability for perpetrators. However, government chose not to support recommendations to revise all media-related laws, social media and media council bills to align with the ICCPR and decriminalise defamation.

In recent months, there have been concerns around press freedom including the criminalisation, harassment, threats and attacks against journalists, restrictions against journalists on reporting and orders to take down news reports by the courts. A YouTuber was arrested for insulting the Prime Minister. The human rights body urged charges over the September 2025 protest deaths while four protesters were arrested.

Expression

Press freedom concerns in the first 100 days of government

In Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s first 100 days in office, journalists and media observers say a series of developments point to mounting pressure on press freedom and freedom of expression.

Concerns have centred on warning-laden remarks by senior ministers, sustained online harassment by supporters of the ruling party, a government policy directing public advertising only to state-owned media, and recent court rulings that critics argue could have a chilling effect on journalism.

Home Minister Sudan Gurung in June 2026 said that the Home Ministry would take action against media organisations that insult or defame individuals. This is despite under Nepal’s existing legal framework, complaints against the media fall under the jurisdiction of the Press Council Nepal.

Media observers say pressure on journalists has not come only from the government itself. They point to an increasingly hostile online environment, fueled by supporters of the ruling establishment who aggressively target critics on social media. They argue that the result has been growing self-censorship.

Criminalisation, harassment, threats and attacks against journalists

There have been ongoing reports of journalists being criminalised, harassed or threatened for undertaking their work.

Ahead of the federal elections, Arjun Acharya, a reporter with RatoPati.com and an executive editor of Hamromat.com was assaulted. This occurred on 26 February (February 26), while covering the election activities of K. P. Sharma Oli, Chairperson of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) at Kamal Rural Municipality of Jhapa district in Koshi province. He was allegedly attacked by individuals associated with the CPN (UML)’s volunteer force while attempting to capture video involving local women expressing symbolic protest against Oli. During the assault, his mobile phone was seized, his glasses were broken, and he sustained injuries to his face and eye. Journalists accompanying him were also threatened following the incident.

On 3rd March 2026, journalist Raju Subedi received threats on social media and via phone calls in response to a news reported he published about the distribution of Nepali citizenship to a person holding Indian citizenship.

On 9th April 2026, Editor-in-Chief of Diyopost.com, Sudip Bishwakarma received a threat over hos news reporting Bishwakarma told Freedom Forum that a news report on the investigation initiated by the Department of Money Laundering Investigation into the assets of Nepali Communist Party leader and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was published on 8 April, along with screenshots of supporting documents. Following the publication, Ganga Dahal, daughter of leader Dahal, called Bishwakarma and questioned why he had published the news and wanted to know the source of information. She also threatened him with legal action, warning him to prepare for a prolonged legal process

Police issued an arrest warrant under cybercrime charges against journalist Basudev Dhami in Kanchanpur, Sudurpaschim Province on 23rd April 2026. Dhami is the publisher of Paschimkhabar.com. The warrant was issued after Beldadi Municipality Vice-Chairperson Shanti Nath filed a complaint at the District Police Office, Kanchanpur under Section 47 of the Electronic Transaction Act over critical news articles published on the portal on 16-17 April and Dhami’s Facebook post. The reports covered her arrest in connection with the alleged murder of a local resident and her alleged involvement in fraud related to the provincial government’s agricultural grant program.

Following the news publication, Vice Chair Nath filed a complaint and the arrest warrant was issued against journalist Dhami.

On 25th May 2026, serious concerns were raised over police surveillance, attempted arrest, and threats from various individuals directed at senior journalist Kishore Shrestha regarding a published news report. According to the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) Kathmandu Branch, this occurred after critical news reports about a minister and leaders of the ruling party were published in Jana Aastha Weekly and JanaAastha.com. Shrestha said the pressure for him to reveal his sources escalating under the direct instructions of the Prime Minister.

The communication equipment of Mahottari-based journalist Narendra Mahato was seized on 31st May 2026, and he was subjected to ill-treatment by a group of individuals, while he was covering a protest demonstration in Gaushala, Mahottari.

On 18th June 2026, the Palpa branch of the FNJ expressed serious concern over a death threat made against Palpa journalist Bijay Baudel over a published news story. An unknown person threatened to kill journalist Baudel over the phone using abusive language.

On 25th June 2026, police arrested senior journalist Khem Bhandari from Sudurpaschim Province in a criminal defamation case following the verdicts of the Kanchanpur District Court and Mahendranagar Bench of the Dipayal High Court. The arrest was based on Kanchanpur District Court’s order to sentence Bhandari to one month’s imprisonment and impose a fine on 15 May 2025. The High Court upheld the district court’s verdict on 5 April 2026 and additionally sentenced him to seven days in prison along with an additional fine. Both the courts found Bhandari guilty of defamation in connection with his reporting for Manaskhanda Daily and social media posts relating to the rape of a minor eight years ago.

On 27th June, FNJ stated that there were pressure and threats directed at journalist Dhanraj Saud by Tek Bahadur Saud, the Chairman of Bannigadhi Jayagadh Rural Municipality in Achham, demanding that the journalist disclose his news sources. Dhanraj said this occurred when he was summoned to Saud’s office.

On 30th June 2026, there were reports on the harassment against journalist Dilip Sahani and the physical assault of journalist Govinda Yadav while they were on reporting assignments in Siraha. Sahani was ill-treated by police personnel at the Area Police Office in Golbazar on Meanwhile, journalist Yadav was injured in an attack by the son of the Ward Chairperson of Karjanha Municipality-7.

The Kathmandu District Court, on 1st July 2026, sentenced the then editor of Rajdhani Daily, Saroj Mishra, to four months in prison in a defamation case under Section 306(1) of the Criminal Code. The court also ordered editor Mishra and Rajdhani Daily to pay an additional compensation of Rs 250,000 (USD 1,641) for the damage caused to the plaintiff. The sentence was due to a news item published in Rajdhani Daily and its online edition on serious allegations against Shobha Karki such as visiting judges’ homes, fixing’ court proceedings and earning money illegally. Taranath Dahal, executive chief of Freedom Forum, said the ruling reflected a troubling approach to press freedom. He warned that criminal penalties for journalistic work could undermine constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and weaken investigative reporting.

Journalists barred from reporting

Security personnel barred journalists from reporting at squatters’ holding centers in Kirtipur on 30th April 2026. The holding center is a government-managed facility where families identified as ‘squatters’ displaced from riverbank settlements in various parts of Kathmandu have been relocated.

Reporter Sarisha Achhami of Setopati.com told Freedom Forum that while she was taking photos and videos of affected families, security persons approached her and said taking photos was not allowed in the center. They asked her to delete all the recordings. When she refused, she was threatened that reporting would not be allowed unless all the recordings were deleted.

Freedom Forum also spoke with Kantipur National Daily reporter Daya Dudraj, who was similarly compelled to delete all photos and videos in order to continue reporting at the center the same day.

According to Freedom Forum, reporters were barred from covering news at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar on 4th May 2026. A reporter stated that media persons from various outlets were restricted from reporting at the premises following an order from Prime Minister Balen Shah. As PM Shah entered the office, security persons instructed journalists to stop recording videos and leave the premise.

Government information to be published only in government media outlets

The Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) expresses its serious concern over a circular issued in April 2026 by the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to all federal ministries, commissions, secretariats, and provincial and local levels, directing that government information and advertisements be published and broadcast only through state-owned media.

The Federation expresses its grave disagreement and objection to the secretary-level decision to cut off government advertisements to private media outlets, which are already grappling with an economic crisis caused by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Gen-Z protests.

The Federation maintains that this decision, on one hand, creates a situation where private media outlets may be forced to shut down, stripping working journalists of their livelihoods. On the other hand, it creates an environment of press censorship, directly impacting independent journalism.

The Federation demanded the government immediately withdraw this decision, which ‘goes against the spirit of constitutionally guaranteed full press freedom, liberal economic policies, and federalism.’

Court orders removal of tax evasion reports

On 13th May 2026, the Kathmandu District Court issued an interim order directing the removal of news reports published by Beemapost concerning alleged tax evasion.

According to the order issued by a single bench of Judge Koshaleshwor Gyawali, two reports published in April 2026, must be removed from the media outlet’s website.

The reports carried the headlines, “Former CNI President Bishnu Agrawal Accused of Evading Millions in Customs Duties on Foton Vehicle Imports” and “Bishnu Agrawal Involved in VAT and Customs Evasion for 17 Years; When Will Action Be Taken?”

Beemapost has argued that the order undermines constitutionally guaranteed press freedom and freedom of expression, noting that the publication was not given an opportunity to participate in the hearing before the interim order was issued. The outlet also stated that issuing such an order through a one-sided hearing contradicts the principle of natural justice.

Similarly, Umesh Bagchand, senior vice president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists and president of the National Federation for Right to Information, said the order to remove the reports could weaken press and expression freedoms.

Court order to delete 66 stories on vehicle imports

Kathmandu District Court issued an interlocutory order against a news portal, Biznessnews.com on 19th July 2026. The order directs the news portal to remove a total 66 news articles published on the portal related to allegations of irregularities in BYD vehicle imports. BYD is a Chinese company.

The order was issued following a complaint filed by Cimex Inc. Pvt. Ltd., official distributor of the vehicle brand in Nepal, seeking to halt the publication of news reports of the company. Biznessnews.com has been publishing news highlighting concerns regarding alleged irregularities and misconduct by the distributor company in the sale of vehicles.

Media Action Nepal called on authorities to respect the Article 19 of the Constitution of Nepal that guarantees the right to communication and prevents any form of censorship.

Freedom Forum expressed serious concern over the court’s order. It said that issuing such an order without a basic verification of the accuracy of published news raises concerns regarding constitutional protections for press freedom and right to information.

Election Commission sought removal of BBC documentary

The Election Commission of Nepal issued an official letter to the media regulatory body, Press Council Nepal (PCN), requesting removal of a documentary posted by BBC in February 2026.

The documentary titled ‘Shot Like Enemies: Inside Nepal’s Gen Z Uprising’ was posted on the YouTube channels of BBC World Service (English) and BBC Nepali Sewa (Nepali) on the same day. Both videos had garnered approximately 2.5 million views. According to a description on the video, the documentary is based on more than 4,000 videos, photographs, and leaked police radio transcripts obtained by BBC journalists. The documentary focuses exclusively on the Gen Z uprising.

The Commission has reportedly expressed concern over the documentary’s content, citing its potential impact on the March 2026 elections.

Freedom Forum’s Executive Chief Taranath Dahal raised concerns on the request stating that “disclosing the truth through investigative reporting is a duty of the press and the right to know the truth is a fundamental public right.” Ordering the removal of the published content goes against press freedom, he noted.

YouTuber arrested for insulting Prime Minister

In April 2026, YouTuber Roshan Pokharel, was arrested on charges of broadcasting insuling content using derogatory language against leaders, including Prime Minister Balendra Shah, on YouTube

A resident of Phalgunanda Rural Municipality-7 in Panchthar, Pokharel, was arrested on 9th April. He was apprehended by the District Police Office, Panchthar, based on an investigation by the Nepal Police Cyber Bureau. Following his arrest, the Panchthar District Court had extended his remand by 10 days.

Following his arrest, Prime Minister Balen Shah faced significant criticism on social media sharing his old Facebook statuses and videos to highlight perceived inconsistencies.

According to DSP Anish Karna, Chief of the District Police Office, Panchthar, Pokharel was released on 12th April into custody of his relatives on the condition that he presents himself whenever required.

It was reported on 7th July 2026 that the District Court in Panchthar ordered Roshan Pokharel to be sent to judicial custody pending trial in a case filed under the Electronic Transactions Act.

Peaceful Assembly

Human rights body urges charges over September 2025 protest deaths

Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission has recommended sweeping legal action and a five-year political ban against former Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, two of his ministers, and top security officials. The commission holds the leaders directly responsible for a bloody crackdown on youth-led anti-corruption protests last year that left at least 76 people dead.

Lily Thapa - who led the inquiry into the September 2025 protests - said they had submitted the report to the government on 27th May 2026. She told OCCRP that the government is required to report back within three months on the steps it has taken to implement the recommendations.

The commission explicitly blamed Oli, former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, and former Communications Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung for the street violence on September 8 and 9. It also called for departmental action against the current inspectors general of the Nepal Police and the Armed Police Force for directing the crackdown

The NHRC report also recommended an investigation into the chair of that earlier commission, Gauri Bahadur Karki, along with other former officials, for their own alleged involvement in the protests. The commission recommended investigating 17 lawmakers from the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), including its president, former Deputy Prime Minister Rabi Lamichhane.

The military also faced sharp criticism. The NHRC issued a formal warning to the Nepali Army for failing to intervene and protect highly sensitive sites, including the parliament and the president's residence.

Youth protesters arrested

In April 2026, police arrested four young protesters from inside Singha Durbar after they demanded the resignation of Home Minister Sudan Gurung. According to Kathmandu Police spokesperson SP Pawan Bhattarai, the youths were taken into custody directly from the restricted government area. The incident happened while they were raising slogans and protesting near the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers.

The protest comes as criticism against Home Minister Gurung has been growing in recent days. He has been questioned over alleged links with a controversial businessman involved in share market dealings. The arrest has once again raised concerns about freedom of protest and how authorities respond to public criticism in sensitive government zones.

Gurung stepped down as home minister on 22 April 2026 but returned to the post less than two months later after a government-formed investigation committee concluded that nothing unusual was found in his landholdings.