Nepali Lawmaker’s Critic Arrested for Social Media Posts

A young man has been arrested in Nepal for allegedly criticizing a local lawmaker on social media.

Nijamuddin Ansari, a resident of Bara district, was taken into custody on Wednesday for posting critical comments about Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) lawmaker Arbind Sah on Facebook.

According to Bara’s police chief, SP Narendra Kumar, Ansari was arrested for violating the Electronic Transactions Act, which prohibits the dissemination of hate speech and false information.

Background

Ansari had posted several comments on Facebook, questioning Sah’s performance as a lawmaker and accusing him of not fulfilling his election promises.

In one post, Ansari wrote, ‘I have an open challenge. Wherever I meet honorable Arbind Sah, I will smear him with black ink. The public is already exposing that he has not worked even 1% according to his manifesto.’

Ansari’s posts were deemed defamatory by Sah, who filed a complaint with the police.

Reaction

A close associate of Ansari questioned the necessity of his arrest, saying that he had only expressed his dissatisfaction on social media and had not participated in any physical protests.

‘He expressed his discontent on Facebook. Since Nepali is not his first language, there may be some errors in his writing,’ the associate said. ‘Was it necessary to arrest him just for that? Now, he can’t even speak out?’

Ansari is expected to be produced in court on Thursday.