(Updated) Updated ------------ The Federation of Nepali Journalists has raised doubts over the investigation process launched by the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority against journalist and Sajha Yatayat Chairman Kanak Mani Dixit. Dixit was taken into custody on Friday for allegedly amassing illegal property. In a statement on Tuesday, FNJ General Secretary Dhruba Lamsal said the umbrella body of Nepali journalists had been keeping tabs on the action. “The series of events in this episode—the arrest of Dixit, subsequent action, the delay in initiating the judicial process, and the attempt by the investigating body to accuse the entire press fraternity—shows the investigation process is not ordinary,” read the statement. The International Federation of Journalists, in a statement on Saturday, condemned the arrest and demanded immediate release of Dixit and a fair investigation process on charges against him. “The arrest of Kanak Mani Dixit raises serious concerns for the statement of freedom of expression in Nepal. The circumstances of Dixit’s arrest are questionable, raising questions about proper judicial procedure. The IFJ urges the government of Nepal to immediately release Dixit and conduct a transparent investigation into the arrest and the CIAA’s allegations,” read the statement. The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the World Editors Forum expressed serious concerns about Dixit’s detention. The association, which represents 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, said in a statement that the anti-graft body misused it power to intimidate the Himalmedia co-publisher. “We respectfully call on you to take all possible steps to ensure that the detention order is immediately rescinded and that the CIAA investigation is halted. Given the personal nature of this action, we urge you to appoint an independent inquiry into the conduct of the CIAA and its investigation,” read a memorandum forwarded to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. Two dozen civil society leaders and professionals demanded Dixit’s release, arguing that his detention was a vengeful act against him. They said the CIAA inflicted serious damage to Dixit’s reputation as a civil society leader and journalist. Advocates Baburam Giri, Om Aryal and Ashikram Karki, rights defenders Gopal Krishna Shiwakoti, Bhawani Kharel and Bikash Basnet, and Madhes Civil Society President Ganesh Mandal are among those who signed the statement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, former President Ram Baran Yadav visited Bir Hospital to meet Dixit, who has been undergoing treatment under the CIAA’s custody for high blood pressure. The duo talked for around 20 minutes. -------------------------------------------- The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) on Friday arrested senior journalist and civil society leader Kanak Mani Dixit to probe into corruption charges against him. The anti-corruption constitutional watchdog had deployed a police team to arrest him from his private residence in Patandhoka of Lalitpur. update 24.4.2016: The Special Court on Sunday ordered the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) to allow journalist Kanak Mani Dixit to consult his lawyers. The CIAA had arrested Dixit, co-publisher of Himalmedia, on last Friday on the charges of ‘amassing disproportionate wealth’. Dixit was kept in a police custody filled with persons accused of petty crimes in Gaushala, Kathmandu. He was not allowed to meet anyone except his wife. On Sunday, Dixit’s lawyers claimed during a hearing that the CIAA violated fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution by not allowing the accused to meet the defense lawyers. And the joint bench headed by the Special Court President Mohan Raman Bhattarai ordered the anti-graft body to allow Dixit to meet and consult his lawyers. The CIAA had sought a 30-day judicial custody for Dixit. But the court allowed the anti-graft body to keep Dixit in custody only for 10 days beginning 22 April. The CIAA has accused Dixit of abusing his power as the Chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a public transport company, to ‘amass disproportionate wealth’. But journalists, media persons, public intellectuals and scholars within Nepal and across South Asia have say the CIAA Chief Lok Man Singh Karki is trying to take revenge against Dixit. Dixit had been critical of Karki’s appointment as the CIAA Chief in 2013, saying a person found guilty of oppressing the Jana Andolan 2006 by abusing his power does not deserve this post. Karki was Chief Secretary during Gyanendra Shah’s regime, and he was later found guilty by an independent commission of misusing his power to suppress people. । update........... After ten days of detention by the Commission to Investigate the Abuse of Authority (CIAA) journalist and Himalmedia co-publisher Kanak Mani Dixit was ordered to be released by the Supreme Court on Sunday. Acting on a habeas corpus writ, Chief Justice Sushi Karki and Justice Jagadish Sharma Poudel in their decision termed the detention illegal and warned the CIAA not to anyone into custody without furnishing sufficient reason. The Bench ruled that the CIAA couldn’t provide adequate basis for Dixit’s detention for 10 days, and has further determined that this process of using the ruse of a corruption allegations to put individuals behind bars is itself wrong. This sets the precedent now for the CIAA to follow proper legal procedures in future. The gist of the ruling is: The CIAA and the Special Court do not have the right to detain or extend the detention of anyone it likes without sufficient reason and proof in the name of investigating them. It has concluded that the CIAA has not been acting within the legal framework, and has raised serious questions about the watchdog’s activities over the past. Before Dixit, the CIAA had filed cases against lawyers Sambhu Thapa and Jyoti Baniya. CIAA chief Lok Man Singh Karki sought revenge against all three for their opposition to his appointment in 2013. Karki had been named by the Rayamajhi Commission for embezzlement and masterminding the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters as the Chief Secretary in the Gyanendra regime in 2006. The CIAA got the Internal Revenue Service to raid Sambhu Thapa’s law firm and seize computers. Even then, the Supreme Court had warned the CIAA that its behaviour wasn’t legal. The Special Court had also dismissed the case against Baniya. With Sunday’s verdict on Dixit, the Supreme Court has for the third time found the CIAA’s actions illegal. It is therefore time for Parliament to take action against another constitutional body that has been acting in an arbitrary and unlawful manner. The Constitution gives Parliament the ultimate responsibility to monitor the activities of all constitutional organs, except the National Human Rights Commission. And if found to be behaving in a manner that is illegal, Parliament has the mandate to start impeachment proceedings. When it convenes on Monday, Parliament may have to start deliberating on what to do about the wayward CIAA. Kiran Nepal