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TAMIL EDITOR KILLED IN HIS HOME

The editor of a Tamil magazine was shot dead in his home in northern Sri Lanka, report the Free Media Movement (FMM), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Subash Chandraboas, editor of "Nilam" ('The Ground"), was murdered on 16 April at his home in Vavuniya, 260 kilometres north of Colombo. FMM says it is not clear if the killing was work-related.

Chandraboas, who had contributed freelance work to other Tamil publications and websites, was among nine people detained by the Special Intelligence Unit in 2001 under suspicion of being involved with a landmine that was found near their homes, says CPJ.

According to newspaper reports, 25 civilians have been killed in Vavuniya during the first 18 days of April 2007. The town is in a government-controlled zone, close to the area held by the Tamil Tigers. Fighting between the government and the Tamil rebels has resumed after a ceasefire in 2006 broke down. Tamil journalists account for all seven of the journalist murders in Sri Lanka between 2000 and 2005, report IFEX members.

Visit these sites:
- FMM: http://tinyurl.com/ywq6xb
- CPJ: http://www.cpj.org/news/2007/asia/sri20apr07na.html
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=21864
(24 April 2007)