Kathmandu: Sixteen journalists were arrested under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Control and Punishment Act during the nine-month long emergency in Nepal, the Home Ministry said.

These journalists were detained for their suspected links with the outlawed Maoist rebels, it said in a release on September 4.

The ministry disclosed the whereabouts of 16 journalists as per the demand by Nepal Federation of Journalists (FNJ), which submitted a list of 21 scribes whose status was unknown.

However, the government did not disclose the whereabouts of the remaining five journalists.

Nepal government had detained over 105 journalists during the past nine months.

FNJ has been launching a series of protest shows against the government's hostile attitude towards the press. The Federation has demanded the government to guarantee press freedom and ensure the safety of journalists in view of the growing threat to them.

PTI