KATHMANDU, Nepal – A Canadian man will leave Nepal today after court failed to hear his appeal for the revocation of his work visa over critical social media posts.
A lawyer for Robert Penner says the Supreme Court did not have time to hear the appeal Thursday and their turn would likely only come up on Friday.
READ MORE: Canadian Robert Penner arrested after criticizing Nepal government on Twitter
But the government order issued Tuesday required Penner to leave within two days.
Penner’s lawyer, Dipendra Jha, says his client will fly out of Nepal later on Thursday, but Jha will continue the case in court on his behalf.
“Robert’s case was scheduled to be heard today, but his turn did not come up,” said Jha “There is no possibility of him staying in Nepal now, and he will have to leave today. We have been given a time on Friday, where I will be present.”
Penner was present in court all day but refused to speak to the media.
The government made the rare decision to expel a foreigner because a report prepared by authorities suggested his critical posts on Twitter threatened national unity.