Sri Lankan anti-terror authorities interrogate journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan
Washington, D.C., July 14, 2021 — Sri Lankan authorities should stop harassing journalist Selvakumar Nilanthan and halt any further efforts to interrogate him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 12, officers with the Batticaloa district’s Terrorism Investigation Division, a branch of the Sri Lankan police, interrogated Nilanthan, a freelance Tamil journalist and…
CPJ joins call for accountability in attacks on journalists in Sri Lanka
The Committee to Protect Journalists joins the Center for Justice and Accountability in calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to take action against impunity in attacks on journalists in Sri Lanka. In a report released today, the Center for Justice and Accountability, with support from CPJ, outlined the Sri Lankan government’s systematic and…
At least 5 Sri Lankan journalists assaulted while reporting in October
At least five Sri Lankan journalists were assaulted and hospitalized during the course of their reporting in October 2020, according to news reports and journalists who spoke to CPJ. On October 3, a group of people in Moneragala district, in southeast Sri Lanka, assaulted Indunil Wijenayake, a reporter for Derana TV, while he was covering…
Sri Lankan authorities seize reporter Dharisha Bastians’ laptop in home raid
New York, June 18, 2020 – Sri Lankan authorities should immediately return journalist Dharisha Bastians’ computer and allow her to report without fear of official harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On June 9, officials from the Criminal Investigation Department raided Bastians’ home in Colombo, the capital, and seized her laptop in connection…
Journalists beaten by unidentified groups, interrogated by police in Sri Lanka
New York, December 16, 2019 — Sri Lankan authorities must thoroughly investigate several recent attacks against journalists, hold those responsible to account, and ensure that journalists can report freely in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Sri Lankan army reinstates official suspected in Lasantha murder, other attacks
New York, May 15, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed alarm that a Sri Lankan military intelligence official–who, according to news reports and court documents, is linked to attacks on at least three journalists–was restored to active duty.
Social media still blocked in Sri Lanka following terror attack
Several social media sites remained blocked in Sri Lanka today, according to NetBlocks, an independent, international civil society group that monitors internet censorship. Sri Lankan authorities blocked the sites, along with several messaging apps, throughout the country on April 21, following a terrorist attack that left more than 253 people dead, according to international news…
Civil case filed in US over murder of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga
Washington, D.C., April 15, 2019 — Today, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, unsealed a civil lawsuit against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a dual U.S.-Sri Lankan citizen, seeking damages for his alleged involvement in the 2009 killing of journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga,…
Sri Lankan politicians try to intimidate journalists over New York Times report
Washington, D.C., July 3, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on opposition politicians in Sri Lanka to stop trying to intimidate local journalists by publicly leveling accusations against them. At a press conference yesterday evening, associates of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa accused two journalists for The New York Times of being tools of the…