Nepal frees ex-ministers, journalists

The Nepal government today released seven people including former ministers, journalists and activists, who were detained after the February 1 takeover. The release came a day after King Gyanendra told some reporters that the government has softened press censorship and called on the international community not to isolate Nepal.

Those released today include Homnath Dahal, Agriculture minister in the dissolved government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba; Khagendra Bhattarai, former President of Nepal University Teacher’s Association and Lokraj Baral, former Nepalese ambassador to India, official sources said.

The government also freed former minister and spokesman of the Nepal Communist Party Pradip Nepal from house arrest. The General Secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ), Bishnu Nishthuri, and two other journalists are among those released. However, sources said that over 200 people are still in jails.