Lasantha Wickrematunga

Image: Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at a seminar on the safety of journalists in Colombo in December 2017. Despite Sri Lanka’s commitments to address impunity, no justice has been secured in the cases of 10 murdered journalists. (AFP/Ishara S. Kodikara) By Steven Butler/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator . It was the police line-up from hell. Forget all those “Law […]

by Nirmala Kannangara. It has now proved that the first autopsy report of the Founding Editor of The Sunday Leader newspaper, Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge had been issued to mislead investigations, similar to that of former Havelock Sports Club Captain Wasim Thajudeen. On Thursday, August 10 the second postmortem report of Wickrematunge was produced before the […]

Five arrested military intelligence officers are suspected of killing prominent anti-establishment newspaper editor. Lasantha Wickrematunge was the chief editor of the Sunday Leader [File: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP]Lasantha Wickrematunge was the chief editor of the Sunday Leader [File: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP] Sri Lankan police have arrested five military intelligence officers on suspicion of killing a well-known anti-establishment newspaper […]

Image: Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendawitharana, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Field Marshal Fonseka. by Nirmala Kannangara. Fonseka pointed the finger directly at former President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother, former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa;   Gotabaya Rajapaksa directly centralised and supervised all security and intelligence operations in and around Colombo. The investigation into the murder of founding editor […]

by Nirmala Kannangara. Sequence of events that took place last week is to be in favour of the Founding Editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge and Senior Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda murder and abduction investigations respectively. The removal of the Director, Military Intelligence Unit, Suresh Sallay, who was accused of concealing evidence into Wickrematunge murder […]

Image: A campaign in Colombo calling for justice for the murdered and abducted journalists. Recent media reports  indicate that government higher ups have placed obstacles to slow down the investigation in to the killing of founding editor of The Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge. Quoting unnamed CID ( Criminal Investigation Division of the Police) sources  the […]

The investigation into the killing of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga took a new turn last week, when an ex-intelligence unit solider committed suicide, after writing a note confessing to the journalist’s murder. The letter, which had been written in a formal manner, said Sgt. Major Udalagama, who is currently in remand over Wickrematunga’s death, was not […]

(A protestor holds a portrait of Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was killed during a protest in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Photograph: Eranga Jayawardena/AP) New autopsy ordered for Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was gunned down during the civil war after predicting he would be killed by the government The body of a celebrated Sri Lankan journalist gunned down in […]

(Lasantha Wickrematunge ) And Then ‘They’ Came For Him. by Vimukthi Yapa. But who is “they”? One household employee of Wickrematunge had harboured a suspicion that “they” were sent by former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, a suspicion that he had openly voiced. That suspicion did not win the employee a lawsuit or even the ignobility […]

(Poster calling for justice in Lasantha Wickrematunge killing). A Sergeant of the Sri Lanka Army, attached to the intelligence unit, was arrested over the murder of former Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday Leader Lasantha Wickrematunge, police said. This arrest came months after police sought public assistance in tracking down suspects in the murder. Police recently repeated […]

( President Sirisena: is he unable to get Military leaders in line? Image courtesy AP/Eranga Jayawardana) By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema. The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) is contemplating filing criminal charges against the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army and the head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) if the military fail to cooperate in […]

The Colombo Crimes Division today released sketches of two suspects connected to the murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge. Police said one suspect was about 35-years old, 5’8 with wide brown eyes and a stocky build. The second suspect was about 40-years old, 5’10 with a dark complexion. Police said the sketches were drawn […]

Investigations into the assassination of high profile editor Lasantha Wickrematunga has taken a new turn with the authorities focusing on top police officers who may have been involved in a huge cover up. The then Inspector-General Jayantha Wickremaratne and the then Deputy Inspector General Prasanna Nanayakkara have been questioned by the Criminal Investigations Department about […]

(Photo: Doctors trying get Lasantha Wickramatunga’s life back) The CID is reportedly facing continuous disruptions in its investigations into the killings of MP Nadaraja Raviraj and senior journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga and the forced disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. A top official of the CID explained this to a head of the prime minister’s office when […]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its affiliates the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) in welcoming the Sri Lankan government’s decision to reopen investigations into the murder of editor Lasantha Wickrematunge in 2009. Wickrematunge, the founder and editor of The Sunday Leader, was assassinated in January 8, […]

[ Killing of Nadaraja Raviraj too will be re-investigated] Colombo: Sri Lanka’s new government will reinvestigate high-profile assassinations including those of a newspaper editor and politicians that were alleged to have had state backing during the previous administration, a minister said Wednesday. The killings of Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, Tamil lawmakers […]

[ Funeral possession of Lasantha Wickrematunga ] Colombo (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities are investigating a claim that the toppled president’s younger brother ran a “death squad” and ordered a high-profile newspaper editor’s assassination, a police spokesman said Sunday. Former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse ordered the hit on Lasantha Wickrematunga in January 2009, ex-public relations […]