While thousands of users shared on Facebook, cybercrime case filed against Jha
Dipendra Jha, who has recently been appointed as the Chief Attorney for Province 2, has been accused of cybercrime for sharing on Facebook an open letter written by Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and news of Madhesi Youth that showed concerns over the highly defamatory and false article published against Ms. Mohna Ansari, a member of the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.
Mr. Kosh Raj Neupane, a former employee of NHRC, had authored this defamatory article with false accusations and the same is published through an online news portal Sajilo Khabar as per the AHRC’s letter and media reports.
While thousands of users shared the statement/letter/news on Facebook, Mr. Neupane filed a case of cybercrime against Mr. Jha only. Jha had not created the content of the news or statement but he had just shared it on his Facebook just like others did. On top of that, this case is not even qualified to get registered as cybercrime, according to some lawyers.
Let’s not forget, in this digital era, sharing the issue of public concern on social media is exercising the freedom of expression. Using social media to share one’s opinion is a common practice in a democratic country today.
We strongly condemn the false allegation made against @dipjha to defame him for sharing our news written based on the statement issued by AHRC on malign campaign against @MohnaAnsari and @NepalNHRC, launched by ex employee of NHRC Kosh Raj Neupane #Nepal #HumanRights pic.twitter.com/RnBC1gQZoi
— Madhesi Youth (@madhesiyouth) February 28, 2018
NHRC Spokesperson and Commissioner Mohna Ansari tweeted:
I stand with chief attorney @dipjha of Province 2 at this challenging time. Filing a case of cyber crime against him just for sharing the letter written by AHRC to defend the malign campaign against me and NHRC is also violation of freedom of speech. https://t.co/PSLnvE5aNr
— Mohna Ansari (@MohnaAnsari) February 28, 2018
See the full letter here:
