‘Draconian law unacceptable’

KATHMANDU: FNJ has said that it is ready to cooperate with a task force formed by the government to recommend amendments to anti-press provisions in the Criminal Code Act and Civil Code Act.

On September 11, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology had formed the task force headed by senior journalist Dev Prakash Tripathi to study ‘anti-press provisions’ in the civil and penal codes and submit a report with recommendations to the government.

The task force with the mandate of 45 days comprises president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists Govinda Acharya, chairperson of Nepal Press Institute Tirtha Koirala and chairperson of Media Society Nepal Subha Shankar Kandel, among others.

The FNJ on Wednesday submitted to Triphati a list of recommendations on the provisions to be amended and said the draconian law would not be accepted. In response, Tripathi assured that his task force would not compromise on press freedom, stated a press release issued by the FNJ.

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