The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans fronti?res) named four new "predators of press freedom" in Asia this week: Islamic militants, the Prime Minister of Nepal, the Home Minister of Bangladesh and the security forces in southern Philippines.

Deuba now joins an illustrious list of other RSF "press freedom predators" which include North Korea's Kim Il-Sung, Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Libya's Moammer Gadhafi, Than Shwe of Burma, Chechnya's kidnapping mafia and China's Jiang Zemin.

RSF says about Deuba: "When he imposed a state of emergency in November 2001 to combat 'Maoist terrorism', the Prime Minister also resolved to cover up the arrests, torture and intimidation of journalists by the security forces. He has turned his country into the world's biggest prison for journalists."