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Sri Lanka jails journalist for 20 years for freedom of expression

by Tamiya | September 3, 2009 at 11:29 am

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JS Tissainayagam is sentenced for 20 years in prison for writing the reality in Sri Lanka.

JS Tissainayagam was the first Sri Lankan journalist to be formally charged (and now convicted) under the country's draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for his writing.

The verdict comes in the context of increasing pressure on Sri Lanka's journalists. More than 30 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since 2004. Many others have been assaulted, abducted, threatened or forced into exile. Sri Lankan journalists say that the government is responsible for many of these incidents and has failed to protect against others.

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Nugawela

at 11:48 on September 3rd, 2009

It has been established by court that the reporter had accepted funds from the banned Tamil Tiger terrorists to publish a magazine where his articles distorted the truth, contributing to serious communal tensions leading to major civil unrest. His report that the Government withheld food and essentials to Tamil majority areas under the control of Tigers in 2006-2007 was to deliberately mislead the public and international community with intent to incite communal disharmony.

Tamiya

at 20:20 on September 3rd, 2009

Mr Tissainayagam is thought to be the first journalist convicted under the PTA in Sri Lanka since it was passed 30 years ago. He will appeal against his conviction, his lawyer said.

In May the Sri Lanka Government achieved victory in a brutal 26-year civil war against the Tigers that had claimed up to 100,000 lives. In the same month Mr Obama named Mr Tissainayagam to mark World Press Freedom Day. The US President said: “In every corner of the globe there are journalists in jail or being harassed. Emblematic examples of this distressing reality are figures like J. S. Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka, or Shi Tao and Hu Jia in China.”

Mr Tissainayagam’s cause has also been backed by Amnesty International, which has said that he is a “prisoner of conscience”.