13 March 2008

Alert

Detained Tamil journalists badly beaten by police


Incident details

V. Jasikaran ( Jasiharan ), J.S. Tissanayagam ( Tissainayagam ), Kithsiri Wijesinghe ( Wijesingha ), Gayan Lasantha Ranga, S. Sivakumar

journalist(s)

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(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the fate of five Tamil journalists arrested by anti-terrorist police in Colombo in the past six days and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to explain why they are being held.

"The anti-terrorist police are accusing the journalists of receiving money from the Tamil Tiger rebels, but after investigating, we can confirm that the funds in question came from a German foundation and from Tamil exiles," the press freedom organisation said. "We condemn the fact the some of these journalists were badly beaten during their first few days in detention, and that this was clearly done to extract confessions from them."

The funds received by two of the journalists, V. Jasikaran and J.S. Tissanayagam, were to finance the Outreach ( http://outreachlk.wordpress.com ) website and to help Tamil students. An official with the German foundation FLICT told Reporters Without Borders that Tissanayagam, Outreach's editor, received 12,000 euros in November as part of this initiative.

Several other sources told Reporters Without Borders that Jasikaran received money from members of the Tamil exile community in Germany to help students in the east of the island.

The owner of the E-Kwality printing works and a writer known for his Tamil nationalist stance, Jasikaran was arrested in Colombo on 6 March 2008. His computer and printing equipment were seized and his wife, a TV producer, was also detained.

Tissanayagam, who writes for the "Sunday Times" newspaper as well as editing Outreach, was arrested by anti-terrorist police on 7 March. Reporter Kithsiri Wijesinghe, photographer Gayan Lasantha Ranga and video director Udayanan were arrested later the same day.

Journalist S. Sivakumar, the spokesman of the Free Media Movement, was detained for a few hours on 8 March in connection with the same case. He has been ordered to present himself to the police again.

Updates alert on the Jasikaran (Jasiharan), Tissanayagam (Tissainayagam), Wijesinghe (Wijesingha), Ranga and Sivakumar case: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/91544/



Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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More on this case

Safe passage for Tissainayagam just one step toward free media in Sri Lanka, says IFJ 24 June 2010 Freed Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam arrives in United States 22 June 2010 Pardon of journalist welcome, needs clarification, says CPJ 4 May 2010 Critical journalist granted bail 12 January 2010 Discharge of magazine publisher and partner welcomed 29 October 2009 FMM, media groups urge president to free Tissanayagam 23 September 2009 IFJ welcomes expert report on jailing of journalist 16 September 2009 Journalist sentenced to 20-year jail term under terror law 1 September 2009 Journalist's detention extended for 90 days, still held without charge 11 June 2008 Detained journalists tortured, kept in inhumane conditions 21 May 2008 Journalist, press owners still detained by TID without explanation 26 March 2008 Three journalists released by Terrorist Information Department; two remain in custody 19 March 2008 Journalists detained and questioned by Terrorist Investigations Department 10 March 2008

Sri Lanka

Web censorship targeting critical voices 10 November 2011 Death threats against newspaper editor 4 November 2011 Network chairman, general manager receive death threats 28 October 2011 Access to anti-government website blocked 20 October 2011 Newspaper chairman threatened by President Rajapaksa 3 August 2011 See all alerts: Sri Lanka


 
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