About 200 Nepali journalists defied a ban on protests on Tuesday to march through the Himalayan kingdom's capital demanding restoration of press freedoms curbed since King Gyanendra seized power last month. In Kathmandu, riot police stood guard as reporters, editors and photographers waved banners seeking the release of 13 journalists held after Gyanendra imposed emergency and suspended civil liberties.
"We have resolved to continue the struggle until there is complete press freedom in the country," Tara Nath Dahal, head of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists, said in a statement.
"Nepali journalists have to fight for full democracy, press freedom and human rights," the statement said.
Separately, witnesses said police arrested at least 10 political activists who took out an anti-king rally in Kathmandu.