Journalists Killed, Attacked & Harassed in Sri Lanka
1990-2007 August
by Tamil Centre for Human Rights, September 9, 2007
"...................The most common bogey that they use when a government becomes uncomfortable, is that you are a LTTE sympathiser. When governments are in opposition I am their darling and then when they come into power they feel uncomfortable when I report certain things. .. " (Iqbal Athas, Defence Correspondent and Consultant Editor of Sunday Times, in an interview to "The Nation" 2 Sep. 2007)
Health minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said publicly on 6 April 2007, that journalists were behaving like “mad dogs” and should be “vaccinated” as dogs were against rabies. (Excerpt - Reporters Without Borders, 13 April 2007)
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Rest of TCHR report to UN Human Rights Council
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka
1990-2000
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
18/02/1990 |
Richard de Zoysa (journalist for UN funded Rome based agency - IPS) |
International Press Service |
Abducted in and shot dead in Colombo by the Sri Lanka military intelligence. |
14/05/1999 |
Sri Lal Priyantha |
Lakbima |
Arrested by the Police |
15/07/1999 |
Ten journalists |
Freelance & News |
Assaulted by the Police |
21/07/1999 |
Several journalists |
Freelance & News Papers |
Victims of violence by PSD (Presidential Security Division) |
07/09/1999 |
Rohana Kumara |
Editor-Satana |
Shot dead in suburb of Colombo believed to by the PSD |
27/09/1999 |
Susannah Price (British) |
BBC |
Received death threats by telephone |
02/11/1999 |
Nadarajah Atputharajah |
Thinamurusu |
Shot dead by EPDP in Colombo |
03/04/2000 |
Aiyathurai Nadesan |
Virakesari |
Grenade attack at his home in Batticaloa |
20/10/2000 |
Mylvaganam Nirmalarajan |
BBC & IBC, UK |
Shot dead at his home in Jaffna by EPDP |
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Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2001
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
02/01/2001 |
N. Thiruchelvam |
Lake House |
Arrested and tortured in Colombo |
20/01/2001 |
M. Vithiyatharan |
Editor-Uthayan |
Arrested by Police in Jaffna |
21/03/2001 |
A. Fasmi |
Thinakural |
Arrested by Sri Lanka Army in Mannar |
16/04/2001 |
Marie Colvin (American) |
Sunday Times UK |
Shot and injured by Sri Lankan army |
23/05/2001 |
Office of the weekly |
Athavan |
Hit by a lobbed smoke bomb |
07/06/2001 |
Pirabaharan |
Freelance |
Attacked by gangsters in Bogawantala |
17/06/2001 |
Dharmaratnam Sivaram |
Freelance |
Two armed men entered the house, looking Sivaram. |
17/07/2001 |
Aiyadurai Nadesan |
Virakesari |
Interrogated by the Army in Batticaloa |
03/08/2001 |
A. Manoharan |
Lake House |
Received death threat |
26/12/2001 |
Dharmaratnam Sivaram |
Freelance |
Beaten with clubs and knives in Batticaloa |
26/12/2001 |
M. Wijetharan |
Thinakathir |
Beaten with clubs and knives in Batticaloa |
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Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2002
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
06/01/2002 |
Assif Hussein |
Sunday Observor |
Assif Hussein was warned for writing an article about the Buddhist temple in Kandy |
30/01/2002 |
Ranjan Jayakody |
TV channel ITN |
Attacked while he was reporting on an irrigation project in the northern town of Gampaha |
01/02/2002 |
Ervin de Silva |
Divaina |
Attacked by two army deserter and a policeman for written a report exposing a local case of corruption. |
30/03/2002 |
Sarath Chinthaka |
Daily Mirror and Lankadeepa |
Three armed, masked men believed to be security forces, entered the home forcefully and threatened his wife, who was alone in the house with a child - demanding the recording of a controversial speech by President Kumaratunga. As they couldnt find the cassette, they broke a cupboard, took a dozen cassettes and a recorder, and threatened to kill Chinthaka. |
07/04/2002 |
Sunil S. Thanthrige
H.R. Perera |
Lankadeepa
Daily Mirror |
An angry crowd of demonstrators attacked dashing their cameras to the ground. |
22/04/2002 |
Buddhika Weerasinghe |
Freelance |
Police threatened five reporters who were covering a demonstration outside the prime minister’s residence in Colombo |
26/06/2002 |
P. Sathsivanamdam |
BBC & Virakesari |
Armed men attacked his house in Muttur |
00/06/2002 |
A.J.A. Abeynayaka |
Divaina |
Believed to Police prowled around his home iring shots in the air, on several occasions. This harassment was due to his reporting against Kadana police. |
00/06/2002 |
Senathirajah Jeyanandamoorthy |
Virakesari &
Tamilnet |
Journalist neighbour's home was set on fire. Believed to a wrong target |
10/07/2002 |
Nishanta Kumara |
Ravaya |
Three men, including a member of the ruling UNP known as Sanil, attacked and threatened him with a knife - one asked if he was the human rights "dog" who was trying to send his brother-in-law to prison. |
02/09/2002 |
Chandramorgan &
ABC Radio Correspondent |
Valampuri
ABC Radio |
Attached by while they took photographs of the police using tear gas on a crowd of demonstrators. |
03/11/2002 |
Malini Herath |
Dinamina |
Thugs attacked the home |
24/11/2002 |
Sandhya M. Weeratunga
Rukmal Gamage |
Dinakara
Dinakara |
Received telephone threats after their newspaper carried a report about a government minister. Thugs attcked Dinakara’s vehicles driver on 26 November, and asked about the journalists. |
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
03/12/2002 |
Wijitha Ranaweera
Roshan Garusingha
Jagath Kalansooriya |
Dinamina
Lakbima
TV station ITN |
Attacked while covering their use of violence by the supporters of a local leader of the ruling party to disrupt a local election. Ranaweera and Kalansooriya were hospitalised. |
10/12/2002 |
Velupillai Thavachelvam |
UK-based
IBC Tamil Radio |
Police attacked while covering a protest in Nelliady, Jaffna against the EPDP presence in the peninsula. He was admitted to hospital in Point Pedro. |
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2003
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
07/01/2003 |
S. Jayananthamoorthy |
Virakesari |
Grenade attack at his home in Batticaloa |
24/04/2003 |
Asoka Fernando |
Sunday Leader |
Threatened by a priest while covering a visit to Gangarama temple in Colombo |
07/05/2003 |
Ponnaiah Manikavasagam |
BBC Tamil Service |
EPRLF (V), a paramilitary group threaten to kill |
10/05/2003 |
Ponnaiah Manickavasagam |
BBC - Tamil |
Received death threats in Vavuniya |
00/06/2003 |
Poddala Jayantha |
Silumina |
Received death threats for reporting on corruption |
27/07/2003 |
Lasantha Wickrematunga |
Editor –
Sunday Leader |
Minister of Fisheries Mahinda Wijeskera had threatened to kill him. |
01/08/2003 |
Lasantha Wickrematunga |
Editor – Sunday Leader |
A Minister threatened to kill him |
29/10/2003 |
Athula |
Hiru FM radio |
Wounded when Sinhala-Tamil cultural festival attacked |
08/11/2003 |
Paul Harris |
Daily Telegraph, UK and Jane’s Review |
Forced to leave the country because the authorities refused to renew his visa. |
19/11/2003 |
Velupillai Thavachelvam |
UK-based
IBC Tamil Radio |
Military intelligence personnel detained him at the Muhamalai checkpoint in Jaffna. |
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2004
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
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00/02/2004 |
S. Sivapalan
S. Manoharan |
Thinakural
Namathu Eelanadu |
Beaten with batons by police as they were covering an incident in Manipay. Their accreditation, was taken from them. Their notebooks and cameras were destroyed. |
03/05/2004 |
Dharmaratnam Sivaram |
Freelance |
Police raided him in Colombo |
31/05/2004 |
Aiyathurai Nadesan |
Virakesari &
IBC Radio, UK |
Shot dead by paramilitary working with Sri Lankan military |
16/08/2004 |
Kandasamy Iyer Balanadarajah |
Thinamurasu. |
Shot dead in Colombo while on his way to work |
12/10/2004 |
Udaya Kumara Abeyratne |
Divaina |
Attacked by members of a Pentecostal church near Colombo |
25/10/2004 |
Frederica Jansz
Heshani Edward |
Sunday Leader
Freelance |
Attacked while investigating the alleged implication of telecommunications tycoon Thilanga Sumathipala |
29/10/2004 |
Yamuni Rashmika
Atula Vithanage |
Lanka
Radio Hiru FM |
Both injured during an attack by members of the ultra nationalist party, Sihala Urumayah |
24/12/2004 |
Kithsiri De Mel |
Daily Mirror |
Attacked while photographing clashes between police and a crowd in funeral of Buddhist monk. |
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2005
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
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28/04/2005 |
Dharmaratnam Sivaram |
Freelance: Tamilnet, Daily Mirror,Virakesari, |
Abducted and shot dead in Colombo by the paramilitary working closely with Sri Lankan military intelligence. |
12/08/2005 |
Mr & Mrs Selvarajah |
SLRC |
Shot dead in Colombo in their travel agency |
23/08/2005 |
Y Premachchandran |
Sudar Oli |
Attacked by JVP while photographing a JVP protest rally |
29/08/2005 |
D. Selvarathnam – Secuirty Guard |
Sudar Oli |
Two grenades were thrown at the building and watchman was injured |
16/10/2005 |
S. A. Dias, publication manager |
Sunday Leader |
Dias was assaulted and the printing press was set on fire |
01/11/2005 |
Ranee Mohamed,
Berty Mendis |
Sunday Leader |
Assaulted with batons and swords |
15/12/2005 |
Namathu Eelanadu |
Namathu Eelanadu |
Army officers searched the office in Jaffna interogated several staff. |
17/12/2005 |
B. Parathipan, a lawyer - renowned journalist
Kulukulan
Prameshwaran |
Thinakkural
Thinakkural
Thinakkural |
Held in custody overnight after being stopped at a Colombo checkpoint. |
19/12/2005 |
T. Sabeswaran
Winston Jeyan
J. Jerad |
Thinakkural
Thinakaran
Namathu Eelanadu |
Assaulted by members of the security forces, their quipments were also damaged |
22/12/2005 |
K. Navarathnam |
Thinakkural |
Newspaper deliveryman was shot dead by Sri Lanka security forces |
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2006
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
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24/01/2006 |
Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan (SSR) |
Sudar Oli |
Shot dead in Trincomalee by paramilitary forces working with the Sri Lanka Army |
02/05/2006 |
Suresh Kumar - Marketing Manager
Ranjith Kumar |
Uthayan |
Shot dead in "Uthayan" office in Jaffna by EPDP members. Office and computers were badly damaged |
16/05/2006 |
Sunanda Deshapriya
Sitha Ranjanee
Poddala Jayanthe
Dharmasiri Lankapeli
Prasanna Fonseka |
)Free Media )Movement
Journalists Assoc.
Fed.of Media Empl
Journalist |
All have received death threats for meeting LTTE political wing |
01/07/2006 |
Lakmal Silva, |
Freelance |
Killed by the Sri Lanka Army |
24/07/2006 |
Mariathas Manojanraj |
Newspaper distributor |
Killed in Jaffna in a mine that was set off by EPDP |
25/07/2006 |
M. Yahoob - |
Newspaper distributor |
Paramilitary group threatening to kill him for distributing news papers in Batticaloa. |
07/08/2006 |
Group of journalists, including some from the BBC |
Journalists /
International reporters |
Reporters were barred from Muttur reporting on the killing of 17 Tamil employees of the French NGO Action contre la Faim who were killed by the Sri Lanka army on 5 August 06. |
15/08/2006 |
Sathasivam Baskaran |
Driver - Sudar Oli press group |
Shot dead in Jaffna by EPDP |
18/08/2006 |
Uthayan (News paper in Jaffna) |
Uthayan |
Four EPDP member set fire to the press causing serious damage to the publishing house |
20/08/2006 |
Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah |
Managing Director Namathu Eelanadu and form MP |
Shot dead at his home in Tellipalai, Jaffna by EPDP |
22/08/2006 |
Vithyatharan – Editor
M. Saravanabavan, Managing Director |
Sudar Oli group |
Withdrawn the police protection assigned by the President Rajapaksa |
29/08/2006 |
Nadarajah Guruparan |
Tamil radio station Sooriyan |
Kidnapped in Colombo by the paramilitary working with the Sri Lankan military. Due to international pressure he was released after 25 hours |
01/09/2006 |
Ms Thavarajah Thavamni |
Maharaja Television (MTV) |
Sri Lanka military intelligence has kidnapped her and released after 15 hrs. |
07/09/2006 |
Uthayan (News paper in Jaffna) |
Uthyan |
EPDP gunmen continue to threatened the journalists of Uthyan |
17/10/2006 |
Rajpal Abenayaka |
Editor, Sunday Observor, Laka House |
Dismissed for writing about the comments that the President Rajapaksa made to Sri Lankan diplomat |
22/10/2006 |
Virakesari, Thinakural and Sudar Oli (News papers) |
News papers |
Paramilitary group with working Army burned 15,000 copies of news paper! All three news papers banned by the paramilitary in the East. |
??/10/2006 |
Sinhalese section of the BBC World Service |
BBC World service |
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, accused the Sinhalese section of the BBC World Service a reporter for the British radio of being "payroll" in the Tamil Tigers! |
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
??/11/2006 |
George David |
Reuters and the broadcast group Sirasa |
Threatened by soldiers in Trincomalee. |
06/11/2006 |
Publish the information only after the police investigation |
To all media |
According to the state media - Daily News, the IGP Victor Perera wants the media to publish the information on kidnapping of Tamils, only after the police investigation was completed! |
26/11/2006 |
Munusamy Parameshawary |
"Mawbima" Sinhalese weekly |
Arrested by the Sri Lanka Police and released after four months without any charge – 22 March 07. |
27/12/2006 |
Lasantha Wickremathunga |
Editor - Sunday Leader |
Threatened to be arrested for revealing information on luxurious bunker was being built for President Rajapaksa |
00/12/2006 |
3 state media journalists |
State media |
Summoned for questioning by the Police |
00/12/2006 |
Iqbal Athas |
Sunday Times |
Forced to censor his articles on security issues! |
00/12/2006 |
Rohitha Bashana Abeywardena |
Journalist "Hiru" |
Threatened by the authority for covering the plight of Tamil residents in the North East. |
00/12/2006 |
Auruddha Lokuhapuarachchi |
Reuters |
Threatened for covering the plight of Tamil residents in the North East. |
Journalists and other staff killed, attacked and harassed in Sri Lanka - 2007
(many more to be included)
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
05/02/2007 |
Nihal Serasinghe
Lalith Seneviratne
Sisira Priyankara |
All three working trade union monthly news paper "Akuna" |
All three kidnapped from three different locations in Colombo by the unknown people and then handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) |
15/02/2007 |
Subramaniam Ramachandran |
Thinakural and Valampuri |
Kidnapped by EPDP who work closely with Sri Lanka army. On 22 March, Army admitted of holding him. |
24/02/2007 |
TV channels and other media were urged |
All media |
President Rajapakse and his brother Gotabaya Rajapakse, urged TV channels and other media to put out a programme accusing "Mawbima", and its owner Tiran Alles. Also former ministers Sripathi Sooyaaracchi and Mangala Samaraweera, were accused of using the newspaper to plot against government. |
26/02/2007 |
Dushantha Basnayake |
Financial director "Mawbima" |
Arrested by the Sri Lanka Police |
08/03/2007 |
Tiran Alles |
Chairman of "Standard" & "Mawbima" newspapers Ltd. |
Government frozen the a Newspapers Private Ltd. |
06/04/2007 |
Threat to the journalists by the Health Minister |
Cabinet Minister |
Health minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said publicly that journalists were behaving like “mad dogs” and should be “vaccinated” as dogs were against rabies. |
Date |
Name of victim |
Reporting for |
Incident |
17/04/2007 |
Champika Liyanaarachchi |
Editor –
"Daily Mirror" |
Defence Secretary, younger brother of the President Rajapaksa threatened to "exterminate" a journalist on the newspaper, for writing articles about the plight of civilian victims of the war.
British High Commissioner, Dominick Chilcott in Colombo, who went to the Daily Mirror offices to express his solidarity to Editor was summoned to the office of the Defence Secretary. |
29/04/2007 |
Selvarajah Rajivarman |
Uthayan |
Shot dead by EPDP In Jaffna |
15/05/2007 |
Sonali Samarasinghe |
Editor –
"Morning Leader" |
Questioned by by law enforcement authorities |
13/06/2007 |
Tiran Alles |
Chairman of "Standard" & "Mawbima" newspapers Ltd. |
Arrested by the Police. Considered as taking revenge on Tiran Alles by Rajapaksa's family |
19/06/2007 |
Attack on Press Freedom |
Tamilnet |
Sri Lankan authority blocked access within Sri Lanka to TamilNet, a website hosted in Norway. |
02/08/2007 |
Sahathevan Nilakshan |
Trainee journalist |
A journalism student and editor of a publication linked to a student union was shot dead by EDP cadres who work with Sri Lanka military intelligence. |
15/08/2007 |
Kalimuttu Palamohan (KP Mohan) |
Thinakural Tamil Daily |
Attacked with lethal acid thrown at his face and chest. On 28 June, he was hospitalised for a week after being attacked by Air Force personnel
in Colombo |
15/08/2007 |
Iqbal Athas |
Sunday Times
Defence correspondent and assistant editor |
Defence Ministry withdrew special Police protection which was given since 1998. The police protection given after a series of threats by members of security forces. |
18/08/2007 |
Iqbal Athas |
Sunday Times |
The static guard outside my house was removed |
19/08/2007 |
Iqbal Athas |
Sunday Times |
State backed demonstration outside his house at Wijerama junction .
All the windows tinted, a green double cab parked just beyond the guard point down his resident – he may even get abducted |
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