Robert Penner was taken to the Department of Immigration for
questioning on Monday by police who arrested him at his office
in southern Kathmandu, said Lalitpur Senior Superintendent of
Police Pitambar Adhikari.
Penner lives in Kathmandu and works for Sound Cloud, an
outsourcing company.
He criticized the Nepal government on social media during unrest
that followed the passing of Nepal's constitution last year and
he denounced the recent arrest and detention of Kanak Mani Dixit,
a prominent journalist and civil rights activist.
"Yesterday we requested the police to bring him to the
Department of Immigration for questioning," Prakash Neupane,
director of immigration told Reuters.
"Penner is still under the process of investigation. We are
investigating whether he has contravened the terms of his
working visa, which state he can be punished if he engages in
activities outside the terms of his working visa."
Lawyer Dipendra Jha, who is representing Penner, said he had
been informed that the Canadian would be released on Tuesday,
and his visa revoked. Officials at the Department of Immigration
declined to confirm this.
The Canadian consulate in Kathmandu could not be reached for
comment. The Canadian High Commission in the Indian capital New
Delhi declined to comment.
(Reporting by Ross Adkin; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Nick
Macfie)
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