Sri Lanka: Freelance journalist attacked only 48 hours before presidential election
Event- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Nov 14, 2019
- Event Description
Unidentified assailants attacked Lasantha Wijeratna, a freelance journalist and anti- corruption activist, on November 14. The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) and its affiliate Free Media Movement (FMM) raise concerns about the attack which took place in the lead-up to the country’s presidential election.
Wijeratna was attacked by three men with firearms in his home at around 2.30am on November 14. Wijeratna sustained injuries from the attack including severe lacerations to his hand and was admitted to the intensive care unit in Karapitiya Hospital.
News 1stspokesperson SSP Ruwan Gunasekara alleges it was a retaliatory attack to Wijeratna for his work on alleged acts of corruption believed to have been committed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his tenure as the former Secretary of Defense. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was declared the new president of Sri Lanka after the weekend’s election.
The Free Media Movement said it strongly urge “all parties concerned to expedite investigations into this incident, which has challenged the democratic space in this country.”
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Man
- Violation
- Violence (physical)
- Wounds and Injuries
- Rights Concerned
- Offline
- Right to healthy and safe environment
- HRD
- Media Worker
- Perpetrator-State
- Suspected state
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 6.051416982190622
Longitude: 80.2419224252533
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 14 November 2019, Lasantha Wijeratna, freelance journalist, was beaten by unidentified men, allegedly as retaliatory act for his investigative work in galle, Sri Lanka.