Birendra Shah () (Unknown – November 8, 2007) was a print and broadcast journalist for the Nepal FM, ''Dristi Weekly'', and Avenues TV in Bara,

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. Shah was kidnapped October 4/5, 2007, by

Communist Party of Nepal The Communist Party of Nepal (), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism, and imperialism. The founding general secretary ...

Maoists Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...

from Pipara Bazaar,

Kalaiya Kalaiya is a sub-metropolitan city and serves as the headquarters of Bara District in Madhesh Province, Nepal. At the time of the 2021 Nepal census The 2021 Nepal Census was the twelfth nationwide census of Nepal conducted by the Central B ...

, Bara, Nepal, and found dead one month later. The CPN(M) later issued a statement confirming his death.

Personal

Married to Umarawati Devi with two children.

Death

Shah was kidnapped after exposing the Maoists and connections to

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

deals. Three members of the Maoists abducted Shah, took him to a forest, and then shot him to death same day he was kidnapped.

Context

Shah exposed illegal logging deals related to the Maoists. Before his death, he had written several reports about the Maoists which resulted in many threats from the party. They abducted and killed him the same day in a forest and threw his body in a swampy forest. Members of Maoist first denied the abduction and killing of the journalist but then after a month admitted to the killing. The abduction and killing was part of a "personal vendetta".

Impact

Shah has been given a television journalism award in his memory from Avenues Television production.

Reactions

His death drew criticism from several

press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...

organizations, including

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

, the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

, and the

International Federation of Journalists The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries. The IFJ is an associate ...

. There were multiple calls for justice and a nationwide protest. More than a month after the killing, Maoist Deputy Commander Janardan Sharma Prabhakar apologized on behalf of his party, which had previously claimed innocence.

References