They included South Asia s best-known political prisoner, Tek Nath Rizal, whom authorities sentenced in November 1993 to life imprisonment under a broadly drawn National Security Act legislated three years after his imprisonment. Authorities restrict freedom of expression. Criticism of the king is not permitted, except indirectly during national assembly discussions. In June, the BBS introduced a television service, initially available only in Thimpu. Satellite television reception is illegal, although in practice it is generally tolerated.
Freedom of assembly is nonexistent.
In recent years security forces have arrested participants in peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations, mainly in eastern Bhutan and in the southwestern border town of Phuntsholing. Authorities sharply restrict freedom of association for political purposes but permit some business and civic organizations to function. A 1989 royal decree made driglam namzha mandatory for all Bhutanese, although enforcement is sporadic. The government continues to ban the Nepali language as a subject of instruction in schools. Anecdotal data from Bhutanese refugees with relatives in Bhutan suggest that significant numbers of Southern Bhutanese children have no local schools to attend.