Almost 90 journalists snatched in mass arrests in Kathmandu, a score injured

Reporters Without Borders condemned mass arrests in Kathmandu of 87 journalists demonstrating on 16 September 2005 for the restoration of press freedom They were held at a police station for more than four hours before being released. Around a score of journalists were hurt when they were clubbed by police. Among those arrested were the chairman of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Bishnu Nishthuri, as well as the chairman of the reporters' club, Rishi Dhamala. A photographer working for Agence France-Presse, Devendra Man Singh, was left with a head injury. Police said they had moved in to arrest demonstrators after they assembled in a forbidden zone close to Ratna Park. Demonstrations have been banned in the centre of the capital since King Gyanendra seized power on 1st February 2005. A total of more than 140 journalists have been arrested during pro-democracy demonstrations since the start of September 2005.