(RSF/IFEX) – On 12 September 2002, RSF called on the Sri Lankan government to swiftly investigate and punish those responsible for the harassment of journalist Nishanta Kumara. “The new government has substantially improved the press freedom situation, with fewer physical attacks on journalists and the abolition of the law on criminal defamation,” said RSF Secretary-General […]
(RSF/IFEX) – On 12 September 2002, RSF called on the Sri Lankan government to swiftly investigate and punish those responsible for the harassment of journalist Nishanta Kumara.
“The new government has substantially improved the press freedom situation, with fewer physical attacks on journalists and the abolition of the law on criminal defamation,” said RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard in a letter to Interior Minister John Amaratunga. “But the impunity enjoyed by the police in this case is a worrying step backwards.”
The harassment of journalist Nishanta Kumara, a correspondent for the daily “Ravaya” newspaper, began on 10 July 2002, when three men, including a supporter of the ruling United National Party (UNP) called Sunil, attacked him on a bus. They threatened him with a knife and one of them asked if he was “the human rights’ dog that was trying to send his brother-in-law to prison.”
One of the men was about to stab him when the bus driver saw what was happening and stopped the bus, allowing the journalist to escape. Kumara continues to fear for his life as he has been followed every day since 19 August by two men on an unmarked red motorcycle.
The journalist has filed two complaints, one on 10 July and the other on 5 September, with the police chief inspector in Colombo, the police in Kurunegala and the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission, but no investigations have been launched.
Kumara’s article reported on the plight of a 39-year-old woman, Nandani Herat, who was allegedly tortured by police while being held for questioning at the police station in Wariyapola (a north-western town).
Other journalists have been subjected to police intimidation while covering the trials of Herat and of the police officers accused of torturing her. A crew from the public television station was barred from the courtroom in Wariyapola. After leaving the court and filming from their vehicle, they were searched by approximately 25 police officers in civilian clothes, who threatened them with arrest. They left the courthouse and were followed by a blue van. The police warned the journalists to stay away from the court for the next hearing.
RSF asked the Minister to ensure the safety and access of journalists to the case’s next hearing, scheduled for 13 September.
