Written by TP Mishra

Fears are growing for the safety of a young journalist who had been operating in the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutan branch of the Third World Media Network is again calling on international media freedom organisations to investigate the case. Shantiram Acharya was arrested almost three months ago. His family say they don’t know where he is being held or whether he is still alive. T.P. Mishra reports.

The whereabouts of Shantiram Acharya, who, it’s claimed, has been working as a reporter for a number of newspapers operating in the Bhutanese refugee camps in Nepal, is still unknown.

Acharya was arrested on January 16, 2007, on the charge of being a Maoist militant. His case was initially reported eight days later on January 24 by Kuensel, the state-owned website.

The Bhutan Chapter of Third World Media Network (TWMN) investigated and filed a report on  Media Helping Media expressing deep concern about Acharya’s arrest and disappearance.

Devi Acharya, a brother of the missing journalist, says the only hope is for international human rights organisations to probe his brother’s detention.

Speaking by telephone with a TWMN-Bhutan representative, Devi Acharya said the family feared for Shantiram Acharya's safety.

“The state terrorizing situation inside Bhutan is extremely risky. I do not know whether my brother is inside a cruel Bhutanese jail or even whether he is still alive.”

The Communist Party of Bhutan (CPB-MLM) has already stated that Shantiram Acharya was not affiliated to their party.

TWMN-Bhutan called on international media freedom and human rights groups to investigate further.

The writer, T P Mishra, is president of Third World Media Network - Bhutan Chapter and the editor of the Bhutan News Service (BNS) and chief coordinator for Helping Hand - Bhutan (a social organisation). He is also the winner of Bhutan’s journalist of the year award, 2006.

Note: The Bhutan news site Kuensel Online provided another angle on this story.  Click here for an earlier version on this site.