Freedom of expression

Political context Restrictions on freedoms of association and peaceful assembly in the north of the country  Serious reprisals against human rights defenders seeking accountability for human rights violations Slandering campaigns against human rights defenders and NGOs In 2010 and until April 2011, freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression remained significantly hindered in Sri Lanka, […]

Indika Sri AravindaThe Editor of The Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz last Thursday (27) received a death threat via the post to her residence. Frederica lodged a complaint with the Mirihana Police after receiving the threat.This is not the first time and it certainly will not be the last that Editors at this newspaper receive death […]

Press release/ 27 Oct 2011NfR Sri Lanka, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders views the blocking of the website of Lanka e News in Sri Lanka as clear sign of the present regime’s fear of an informed citizenry. The site has been blocked by the State owned Telecom, its subsidiary Mobitel […]

There seems to be a link between Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), illegal drugs and the recent murder of a presidential advisor, says the owner of a private media network. Shan Wickramsinghe, the owner of the TNL media network, told BBC Sandeshaya that he received death threats after his network discussed the alleged link in a […]

One of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s racketeer friends, the head of Triad Advertising and Derana Network, Dilith Jayaweera also known as “Money Laundering” Jayaweera has threatened the Opposition Leader’s brother and the head of TNL TV, Shan Wickremesinghe with death.Shan Wickremesinghe has joined a current affairs programme on TNL TV and said that the Colombo […]

Press release/ 24.10.2011The Free Media Movement (FMM) unequivocally condemns the recent action by internet service providers Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) and Dialog Axiata PLC to block access to the Lanka E News website in Sri Lanka.  The blockage by the State owned SLT and the privately owned Dialog is a serious threat to both mainstream […]

  Nirmala Kannangara in Nuwara Eliya Pictures by Asoka Fernando The sudden demise of 40 year old Pitchai Jesudasan, the main suspect in The Sunday Leader Editor-in-Chief Lasantha Wickrematunge murder case has raised many questions. Jesudasan was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) on February 26, 2010 at his residence No. 31, Magastota Estate, Ruwan […]

Frederica JanszSo now Pitchai Jesudasan from Nuwara Eliya is dead. The sole remaining suspect in the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge.  Jesudasan is not the first and will most certainly not be the last man to die “suddenly” while in remand custody.This man was only 40 years old. He hailed from a poor family in Nuwara […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Pichchei Jesudasan, the primary suspect in the murder of veteran journalist editor of the Sunday Leader News Paper, Lasantha Wickramatunga, died while in remand prison. The other suspect who was arrested in relation to this case confessed to the Magistrate that he is under severe […]

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by reports that access to anti-government news website Lanka eNews has been blocked inside Sri Lanka, according to the site’s exiled editor and users inside the country. All three language versions of the site, English, Sinhala, and Tamil, have not been available since Tuesday. A Sri Lankan journalist […]

Two of Sri Lanka’s Internet Service Providers – Dialog and Telecom – have illegally blocked Lanka E News to their customers.  The chairman of the Telecommunication Reclamation Commission,(TRC) Anusha Palapita, stated that he has not given such orders to any internet service providers that he was unaware of this incident.For further clarification we tried to […]

Int’l campaign to seek justice for Bharatha An international campaign will be launched to expose and punish the killers of presidential advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, says his sister.  Speaking to the media at Hotel Nippon in Colombo today (Oct. 18), Swarna Gunaratne said the conspiracy to murder her brother had been planned since a long […]

The successive SL governments in Colombo have been subjecting the student leaders of the University of Jaffna to state terror and harassment and the student community is not going to give up voicing for the rights of Eezham Tamils, said student leaders who addressed the gathering of more than 1,000 students at the University grounds […]

Freedom of the Press 2011 – Sri LankaStatus: Not FreeLegal Environment: 23Political Environment: 30Economic Environment: 18Total Score: 71 Despite the end of the government’s long-running war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group in May 2009, media freedom remained restricted in Sri Lanka, with journalists subject to myriad forms of legal harassment and […]

Vishnuguptha “Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.”- P. J. O’Rourke American political satiristOnly a symptomWhat happened on the afternoon of the Election […]

Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history,” US President Barrack Obama during his inauguration speech in 2009. Over two and a half years later, the murder investigation on The Sunday Leader Founding Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge has […]

Presidential Advisor Baratha Lakshman Premachnadra had to face this untimely death because he appeared for truth and justice even during the last moments of his life, SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sisisena said paying a glowing tribute to Mr. Premachandra at his funereal in Kolonnawa today.Stating that this unfortunate tragedy was a result of declining indiscipline […]

Medical Specialists condemn assaultThe Councils and the membership of the Sri Lanka Colleges of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, Paediatricians and Surgeons and the Ceylon College of Physicians yesterday expressed their deep concern and noted with chagrin the deliberately planned assault on Dr. N. J. Nonis, Registrar of the Sri Lanka Medical Council by unknown persons near […]

URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORYSri Lanka/October 6, 2011The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation.Brief description of the situation:The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the […]

The Moratuwa police forced a video cameraman from a private television station to erase a video recording of a protest staged outside the police station this afternoon.The video cameraman was recording the protest by relatives of a suspect who died while in police custody early this morning. The suspect was among those arrested for the […]

This week’s Lanka newspaper,  published by the rebel faction of the JVP has been seized by the Mt Lavina police. A spokesman for the group said that the motive appeared to be delaying the distribution of the paper, JVP (DNA) MP Vijitha Herath said that since there was a dispute over the publication they had lodged […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Krishan Jeewaka Jayaruk of Matara District is the regional news reporter of the Sinhala medium ‘Lankadeepa’ and English medium ‘Daily Mirror’ news papers, both are the of the most widely circulated newspapers in the island. On 1 September 2011 he received death threats from […]

A list of false allegations and attacks on Sri Lankan HRD, Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya due to his participation in the 18th session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Sept. 2011 by media controlled by and sympathetic to the Sri Lankan government Title: Two traitors has crept in to Geneva council 13th Sept. 2011: Dinamina, […]

FMM condemns false allegations against press freedom and human rights activists The Free Media Movement (FMM) expresses its serious concern on the false allegations being carried out by the media controlled by and sympathetic to the Sri Lankan government against a former Convener and a present Ex-Co Member of the Free Media Movement. According to […]

”This false reporting has led to a major media campaign against Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya and his close family still residing in Sri Lanka. As IMADR we call for urgent attention of the Human Rights Council on this matter and call for an immediate stop to such misleading reporting. Indeed, Madam Chairperson, it also shows that […]

Saman Indrajith The JVP’s intraparty dispute took a turn for the worse yesterday with the dissidents, known as the Premkumar Gunaratnam group, resorting to violence against the loyalists of JVP leader Somawansa Amerasinghe. The Gunaratnam group set upon one of Amarasinghe’s loyalists yesterday at a JVP safe house in Madiwela injuring him badly. The victim, Kamalaratne […]

The circulation of Irida Lanka news paper was stopped by Grandpass Police after JVP’s mayoral candidate for the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Sunil Watagala two other directors of the Lanka Fast Publishers lodged a complaint. The directors came to the Lakbima News Papers premises where the papers are handed to the outstation circulation with the […]

The situation of the freedom of expression in the country is in peril, the Asian Human Rights Commission warns, pointing to the recent assault of VFM managing director Ruwan Sugathadasa. The AHRC says in a statement that the government has shown no interest in prosecuting the alleged perpetrators of the incident.“The situation of the freedom […]

NfR – Net working for rights in Sri lanka – Exile network for media and human rights in Sri LankaPress release/ 15 September 2011NfR Sri Lanka, a network of Sri Lankan journalists and human rights defenders living outside the country, condemns the falsification of the proceedings of a side event organized by Sri Lankan Mission […]

The Maldivian government is yet to respond to an incident that had reportedly taken place four days ago at the side event during the UN Human Rights Council sessions, involving the Maldives president and exiled Sri Lankan journalist Sunanda Deshapriya.Mr. Deshapriya has said, that government and pro-government media in Colombo had reported that president Mohamed […]