The state of civic space in Nepal is rated as ‘obstructed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Documented violations of fundamental freedoms include arbitrary arrests and the use of excessive force with impunity during protests, as well as the ongoing targeting of journalists, including through harassment, attacks and criminalisation.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in January 2025 that the lack of justice for conflict-era crimes has contributed to a widespread crisis of impunity in Nepal, undermining human rights, governance, and the rule of law. In March 2025, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) reported that Nepal’s leading political authorities, including the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, together with civil society groups, have pledged to redouble their efforts to improve and implement effective transitional justice mechanisms and procedures to ensure accountability and reparations.
In April 2025, Amnesty International said that the government suppressed criticism in 2024 by enforcing restrictions on protests, using unlawful force, and forcibly dispersing and detaining demonstrators. Further, journalists, activists and online critics faced intensified restrictions on freedom of expression.
In recent months, the government attempted to pass a restrictive social media bill, while unregistered social media platforms face a ban under a 2023 directive. There are concerns around the passage of the Media Council Bill that could be used to curtail journalists and influence independent media. Journalists and media outlets continue to be targeted with impunity while police arrested or used excessive force against protesters. In at least one case deadly force was used.
Expression
Social media bill raises free speech concerns
In February 2025, concerns were raised about a new bill aimed at regulating social media that had the potential to impact on freedom of speech. Critics argued that its vague provisions could suppress political dissent and contradict constitutionally protected rights.
On 9th February 2025, the 'Bill on the Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media', referred to as the Social Media Act Bill, was introduced in Nepal’s National Assembly, designed to regulate social media platforms and users through increased registration, penalisation, and content moderation.
The bill would require social media platforms to register with the government to operate in Nepal, enforce strict content moderation policies, and target harmful activities online, including extortion, cyberbullying, phishing, scams, and hacking, specifically defining and determining digital crimes.
Concerningly, the bill would also grant authorities the ability to remove ‘indecent’ or ‘misleading’ content, further criminalise remarks deemed defamatory, criminalise the sharing of ‘trolling’ images, and penalise those spreading images or audiovisuals which could harm someone’s reputation, among others. The bill would also criminalise interacting with social media with ‘malicious intent’ and prohibit the disclosure of ‘confidential information’. Many sections within the bill have been identified as problematic for being overly vague and criticised for their potential for abuse from authorities. The bill could impose fines of up to 2.5 million Nepali rupees (USD 18,300), and up to five years’ imprisonment, with punishments able to accumulate for concurrent charges.
Santosh Sigdel, executive director of the non-profit Digital Rights Nepal said the bill would impose “an impractical onus on users.” It also bars the creation or use of anonymous profiles, which could restrict investigative journalists in particular. Sigdel was also concerned that the proposed law could allow a government department to undertake surveillance of journalists through its monitoring of social media content. The unnamed department “responsible for information technology” could also order social media platforms to remove content.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said: “In its current form, the Social Media Bill threatens to severely undermine press freedom and digital expression. This bill must be withdrawn or subject to significant amendments limiting its potential to be weaponised against the media.”
At the time of writing the Social Media bill is still in the National Assembly and has yet to be passed.
Unregistered social media platforms face ban
On 9th May 2025, Digital Rights Nepal reported that The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has once again issued a warning to social media platforms to register in Nepal under the Directives for Managing the Use of Social Networks, 2023. Despite a passed deadline, only TikTok, Viber and Weetok have complied.
Major platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and X are yet to register, appoint local liaison officers, or implement complaint and content moderation systems. Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung clarified that the goal is not to enforce an immediate ban but to ensure accountability and a safer digital space. The government is currently conducting an impact assessment to evaluate potential consequences of non-compliance.
In early May 2025, Digital Rights Nepal convened a coalition of 31 civil society organisations, digital rights advocates, and media groups. They issued a joint public statement, making a number of recommendations including to ensure that any regulation of digital platforms is transparent, inclusive, and rooted in democratic principles and to initiate meaningful dialogue with civil society, platform representatives, and technical experts before taking enforcement actions.
Concerns around the passage of the Media Council Bill
Concerns have been raised around a Media Council Bill that was passed in February 2025.
The new Media Council Bill replaces the existing Press Council responsible for upholding the standards of free press with the Media Council, a new regulatory body to monitor conduct, advise on policy, and ensure compliance with ethics in Nepal’s media. This could threaten journalistic freedom as a provision in the bill for a government appointed chairperson to lead the council has exacerbated concerns about government influence over independent media.
Additionally, the Media Council Bill aims to make “digital, online and print journalism more decent, accountable and credible”, sparking worries that independent media could be curtailed and journalists put at risk of being targeted through vague and subjective terms.
While the bill removed many of the more contentious provisions proposed in an earlier draft, such as fines and prison sentences for publishing content deemed offensive, Suresh Acharya, former president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, criticised the bill for not addressing their concerns regarding the government's oversight of the council.
Media groups called on the government to amend the Media Council Bill to ensure it has a balanced structure by including a Chairperson with a judicial background, experts and representatives from the media sector, and representatives from media consumers as members.
Targeting of journalists and media outlets
There continues to be concerns about the harassment and attacks on journalists, often with impunity.
Kamal Bahadur Bohara, editor of Palikasamaya.com, a local government-focused online news portal, revealed that he was physically assaulted over a published news story. On 1st February 2025 journalist Bohara published a news story criticising Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balendra Shah. After the report, he received phone calls from people associated with the mayor. On 3rd February 2025, he attended a programme in Anamnagar. While returning he was assaulted in the chest and back by four to five people.
In March 2025, the media houses of Kantipur Television and Annapurna Post were attacked by protesters, allegedly associated with royalist groups. The protesters threw stones at the Kantipur Television office in the Tinukne area of Kathmandu, damaging their windows. Similarly, the Annapurna Post office in Tinkune was also attacked with stones, disrupting its operations and putting the safety of journalists and staff at risk.
Avenues TV cameraman Suresh Rajak died from an arson attack while covering a protest on 28th March 2025. He died in a building set on fire by protestors while he was reporting on violent demonstrations, no one has been arrested.
On 12th April 2025, Suresh Bidari, a freelance journalist and contributor to Himal Khabar, was subjected to online bullying and harassment after writing a piece about violent protests in Birgunj, which prompted authorities to impose a curfew to restore order. Bidari told Media Action Nepal that pro-Hindu activists targeted him for his reporting. He said: “They took screenshots of my posts and articles and posted them on social media platforms, including Facebook, with derogatory and harassing captions.”
On 27th April 2025, Prime Television reporter Sabina Karki suffered excessive use of force from the police, due to their use of a water cannon, during a teachers’ demonstration in Kathmandu. Karki sustained serious injuries to her eyes and was transported to Tilganga Eye Hospital for specialised treatment.
Peaceful Assembly
Arrest of activist for sit-in protest
In January 2025, police detained Phanindra Nepal, a prominent activist of the ‘Greater Nepal’ campaign, while he was staging a sit-in near the southern gate of Singha Durbar on Monday. According to police, Phanindra was taken into custody for attempting to breach a restricted area. Phanindra has been leading a campaign demanding the return of 60,000 square kilometres of Nepali territory ceded to India under the Sugauli Treaty.
Arrests and excessive force during pro-monarchy protests
On 28th March 2025, two people were killed and dozens injured after protests in Kathmandu calling for the restoration of Nepal’s monarchy ended in clashes with police. At least 100 protesters were detained. Thousands of protesters rallied in Nepal’s capital to demand a return to the Hindu monarchy, which was abolished in 2008, and the re-establishment of the country as a Hindu rather than secular state. According to The Guardian, the protests allegedly took a violent turn after pro-royalists broke through police barricades and began throwing stones at officers. The police responded by firing tear gas into the crowds and shooting rubber bullets and live ammunition into the air.
Crackdown on teachers’ protest
On 27th April 2025, police allegedly undertook a brutal assault on teachers who were peacefully marching to the Federal Parliament. According to The Human Rights Research Center (HRRC), the authorities dispersed the gathering using water cannon and batons, injuring over 60 teachers, a dozen of whom were critically injured and later hospitalised. The police claimed that protesters were stone-throwing, but protestors claim this was part of an attempt to infiltrate and undermine their movement.
Since late March 2025, government schoolteachers held peaceful protests in Kathmandu, seeking the long-delayed implementation of the School Education Act, a change promised in successive agreements since 2019.
HRRC reported that the demonstrations, coordinated by the Confederation of Nepalese Teachers and the Nepal Teachers' Federation, included both teaching and non-teaching employees from around the country. They demanded decent salaries, permanent status, and health benefits. Delays in legislative action, despite repeated government pledges, exacerbated discontent and contributed to the intensification of protests.
The protests were halted on 30th April 2025 following a Cabinet-approved nine-point agreement that included commitments for healthcare, social security, and a deadline for passing the education bill.