In a region sliding toward authoritarianism one country after another, the small Himalayan nation of Nepal was a shining exception. Political debates remained largely free, and the powerful could easily be questioned. That openness, in a poor country emerging from centuries of monarchical suppression and decades of insurgency, showed that democratic expression need not necessarily be correlated to economic status. The executive, Kailash Sirohiya, was detained nearly two weeks ago in a thinly veiled act of retaliation by Nepal’s powerful home minister, Rabi Lamichhane. The minister had been the subject of intensely negative coverage by the Kantipur Media Group, owned by Mr. Sirohiya.

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Persons: Kailash Sirohiya, Rabi Lamichhane, Sirohiya Organizations: Kantipur Media, Mr Locations: Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India