Uwazi

The families were met by a heavy police presence who claimed to have obtained a court order from the Eravur Magistrate Court to stop the protest from going ahead.

However, the organisers had notified the health department and the police department prior to the planned protest but were still disrupted by the police. This forms part of the ongoing surveillance and attempts to intimidate families and community representatives who are seeking justice for their loved ones.

Families from Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara had travelled to Chenkalady to participate in the protest organised by the North Eastern Missing Person Organisation.

While the families have been campaigning for over a decade, they have been continuously protesting for over 1,250 days, demanding the fate of their relatives to be revealed.

Denying the allegations leveled over a supposedly large-scale hotel built near the Sinharaja Forest, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has sent a letter of demand to environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara through his lawyers seeking a compensation of Rs. 500 million within seven days.

Rajapaksa in his letter cites that Chamikara's statement is false, baseless and insulting.

Chamikara on August 19 told media that a large scale hotel belonging to Yoshitha Rajapaksa was built in the Sinharaja Forest and a road is being developed penetrating the forest canvass to enter the hotel.

Rajapaksa also makes the following demands in his letter;

Acknowledge that there is no truth to this statement and plead apology Inform the relevant media institutions or parties to remove this news item, had it been published on media, and make arrangements to remove the news item Acknowledge before media through a press release that there is no truth to this statement Statement that no baseless allegations will be leveled against Mr. Yoshitha Rajapaksa again Payment of Rs. 500 million as compensation within 07 days

Two journalists who are in hospital after been violently beaten up and threatened with death while investigating an illegal logging racket, fear for their safety as the assailants are roaming free with apparent protection from authorities.

On 12 Monday afternoon, Shanmugam Thavaseelan and Kanapathipillai Kumanan covering illicit felling in the Mullaitivu district were attacked by illegal loggers wielding clubs and an adze. Most of their photographic evidence was destroyed while they managed to save few video footage.

“The leader of the thugs who attacked us is roaming freely even though there are multiple complaints against him and several arrest warrants,” Thavaseelan who lost a couple of his front teeth had told fellow journalists visiting him in the Mullaitivu District Hospital.

“This shows the level of protection he enjoys. He had an adze in his hand which he threatened to use to cut me down to pieces. If some in the gang did not stop him, I would have been dead by now. If they are not arrested our lives are in danger.”

Four men on motorbikes

The two Tamil journalists were investigating a tip-off about an illegal logging operation in the Murippu forest reserve adjoining a cultivated teak range. While the teak was legally felled by a supplier to the State Timber Corporation (STC) the bordering forest reserve was illegally logged by another who was allegedly introduced to the supplier by the Beat Forest Officer (BFO) of the range. Locals are convinced that the illegal logger was running a timber racket in collusion with the licensed supplier and forestry officials under the guise of supplying legitimate timber to STC.

When Thavaseelan and Kumanan visited the nearby Kumulamuani east, they found a two-floor timber construction within a clearing enclosed in a bared wire fence with teak posts. The journalists estimate that at least 200 logs went to build the enclosure.

Four men on motorbikes confronted the journalists who were filming what they saw.

“We told them that we are hearing about illegal logging and what they have to say about it,” said Thavaseelan.

“Then they beat us up. Kumanan was from that village. They accused him of doing harm to the village and banged him heavily on the head. He started bleeding. I was attacked with an adze. I lost my teeth. The leader threatened to kill us.”

Attacked and robbed

The four forced them to the enclosure, their recordings were wiped off and memory cards were removed. Their money was stolen.

Once inside the enclosure, the attackers filmed the two journalists accusing them of illegal entry and theft.

“I told them that they can lodge a complaint with the police if we have committed any offence,” said Thavaseelan.

The assailants released the two journalists later who lodged a complaint at the Mullaitivu police station and were admitted to the Mullaitivu District Hospital.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has rubbished exposures of illegal logging in forest reserves as “fake news campaigns”. In contrast, Defence Secretary Major General Kamal Gunaratne who admitted in public that the ongoing illegal timber racket is a serious threat to the environment, pledged to take action against it with the assistance of the president’s sibling and State Minister for Internal Security Chamal Rajapaksa.

The Free Media Movement strongly condemns the attack carried out on the Derana TV journalist Indunil Wijenayake in Monaragala, while he was there to cover an incident of unauthorized sand mining in the Kumbukkan Oya.

According to reports we have received, journalist Indunil Wijenayake has gone to report an incident of illegal sand mining around the Kumbukkan Oya. At that time, he was attacked by a group of people who obstructed his attempt to report, and as a result of the assault, he had to be admitted to the Monaragala Hospital for treatment. A complaint has been lodged with the Monaragala Police regarding the incident, and it has been reported that the police have commenced investigations into the incident and arrested one suspect.

During the past journalist have reported on unauthorized sand mining in various parts of the country, and recently with the police media spokesperson stating that those reports were instrumental and extremely helpful in the police investigations, it has validated and acknowledged the importance of the role of journalists.

The Government of Sri Lanka has a responsibility to protect the country’s rare natural resources through local environmental regulations as well as through international conventions.

In such a context, in the past journalists who have been engaged in reporting on the environment have been harassed and threatened on several occasions by people suspected of engaging in crimes against the environment. If the law were enforced adequately concerning such incidents, journalists would not often have to fall prey to these environmental criminals. Therefore, the Free Media Movement calls on the authorities to immediately conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident and enforce the law regardless of the status of the suspects.

Last week Jaffna-based lawyer and widely respected academic Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan handed in his notice of resignation from his post as Senior Lecturer of the Department of Law at the University of Jaffna. As he wrote in a powerful open letter, it was a move made “with utmost pain and sadness”. He has been, and continues to be, subjected to a long-standing process of state-led harassment, which is aimed squarely at silencing voices of dissent. Not only is this a massive loss to academia on the island, but it is a stark and dangerous marker of the road that Sri Lanka is hurtling down.

As Guruparan made painfully clear, this was a move he was compelled to make. His letter comes after a ban was imposed on him by the Council of the University of Jaffna to engage in private legal practice, following pressure from the Sri Lankan military after he took up a public interest habeas corpus case into the 1996 disappearance of more than two dozen Tamil youth. In August last year, Sinhala speaking men dressed in civil uniform photographed the Tamil lawyers in the courtroom, in a brazen act of intimidation. One of the men was then seen getting into a car belonging to the Deputy Solicitor General representing the Sri Lankan army. Shortly after, the Terrorism Investigation Division visited the Jaffna office of the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR), a human rights think tank Guruparan co-founded and was executive director of at the time. Just weeks later, the military sent a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) questioning whether Guruparan had permission to engage in private practice. Acting swiftly, the UGC that very same day forwarded the letter to Jaffna University and shortly thereafter, the UGC passed a memo barring Guruparan from private practice.

Though he has courageously attempted to challenge the ban, the drawn-out legal process which has seen bizarre claims made against the Attorney-at-Law, has understandably taken its toll. “I cannot continue my work as a law teacher whilst being barred from this social engagement that I have had with the law,” he wrote, stating it was “something that I consider as being an inseparable part of the profile of an engaged academic”.

The driving forces behind this targeting are clear. As Guruparan noted, this has nothing to do with his academic role and his engagement with legal practice – which had already been clearly marked out before he took on the lecturer role. It is because Guruparan, as a Tamil lawyer, attempted to use the law to hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for grave violations it continues to try and keep buried.

The targeted harassment of Guruparan has happened alongside the Sri Lankan state ramping up its repression of dissenting voices over the past year, particularly from Tamils and Muslims. Lawyers, human rights defenders and activists have come under increasing fire, with some even jailed for their work. Our journalist colleagues and correspondents based in the North-East too have faced an increase in the intimidation that for decades has plagued their profession. Incidents of state violence have increased and as Sinhala nationalist rhetoric grows louder ahead of elections next month, the Tamil homeland remains fearfully braced for further repression.

The capitulation of Jaffna university should also not be overlooked. As Guruparan noted, “the track record of my University in upholding the rule of law, good governance, academic freedom and basic norms of dignity has been bitterly disappointing”. The Sri Lankan government has always viewed the University of Jaffna in particular with contempt and wariness. It has long been seen as a hotbed of Tamil activism, with students continuing to bravely hold protests and memorial events. The government’s response has been to exert its influence on the university, drawing it under the control of paramilitary groups and even resorting to deadly violence. In recent years, students have been locked out of the campus, beaten and even killed. Just last year the Vice-Chancellor was dismissed from his role, with authorities citing baseless “national security” grounds. This latest incident demonstrates how far the subversion of the premier academic institution in the North has gone.

The wielding of violence and intimidation to silence those critical of the state, particularly from the Tamil community, is not a new tactic in Sri Lanka. It is something that successive regimes since independence have employed with deadly results. The current regime under a man accused of overseeing heinous atrocity crimes at the end of the war has predictably shown a willingness to be even more brazen. International actors must act to protect human rights defenders on the island and utilise mechanisms at their disposal to hold the state accountable and prevent further atrocities from occurring. Though Guruparan’s case has drawn widespread and much-needed condemnation, words will not be enough.

Sri Lankan police have released a Tamil lawyer who was arrested as she attempted to enquire into the detention of Black Lives Matter protestors, as clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday.

Swasthika Arulingam was reportedly detained by Sri Lankan police, though it remains unclear as to the grounds on which she was held and if charges are to be pursued.

Clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday as Sri Lankan police tangled with protestors from the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) who attempted to stage a demonstration outside the US Embassy in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sri Lankan police reportedly arrested up to 20 people at the protest, with Arulingam one of the detained. All have reportedly since been released.

On June 9, officials from the Criminal Investigation Department raided Bastians� home in Colombo, the capital, and seized her laptop in connection to an investigation over the alleged abduction of a Swiss embassy staffer in the city in November, she wrote in a statement shared on Twitter.

Bastians, a contributor to the New York Times and former editor of the state-run Sunday Observer newspaper, wrote that the officers had a warrant for the laptop, and that they had twice previously tried to confiscate it without a warrant.

Authorities allege that the embassy staffer�s abduction was staged, and accuse Bastians of communicating with the staffer and being linked to the alleged abduction, according to news reports. Bastians left Sri Lanka in November, and the raid was conducted while her family members were living in her home, according to those reports.

�CPJ strongly objects to the seizure of journalist Dharisha Bastians� laptop and is concerned it could further endanger her sources,� said Aliya Iftikhar, CPJ�s senior Asia researcher. �Sri Lankan authorities should immediately end this intimidation campaign against Bastians, which is clearly retaliation for her critical reporting.�

On June 16, the Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered government analysts to examine whether anything on the laptop had been changed since it was seized, according to those news reports.

In her statement, Bastians said she was concerned about �potential efforts by interested parties to compromise the integrity� of the laptop. She also wrote that Criminal Investigation Department previously obtained her phone records without a warrant and leaked them.

Bastians has reported and written columns on politics, human rights, enforced disappearances, and accountability for journalists who were murdered in Sri Lanka.

In 2018, CPJ reported that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who at the time was in the opposition party and is now the country�s prime minister, publicly named Bastians after she contributed to a New York Times investigation into his failed 2015 presidential campaign.

The Criminal Investigation Department did not respond to CPJ�s emailed request for comment. Mohan Samaranayake, a spokesperson for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, did not respond to a request for comment via messaging app.

Six persons including the main suspect who assaulted an Ada Derana journalist in Atulugama, Bandaragama have been placed under arrest, the police said.

The assault had taken place this morning (24) when the journalist in question had visited the Atulugama area for the coverage of Muslim devotees celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan (Eid-ul-Fitr) while adhering to social distancing guidlines.

The journalist in question, Bimal Shyaman, had initially spoken to and obtained a voice cut from the chairman of the mosque association in Atulugama, Najeed Hajjiar Mohamed Najeed.

He had then proceeded to obtain footage of one of the mosques in the area and as he was set to leave, a group of residents had blocked his vehicle and threatened him. They had also reportedly caused damages to his vehicle.

However, another group of residents had assisted the journalist to leave amidst the tense situation.

The Atulugama mosque association�s chairman also arrived at the location in order to help out the Ada Derana journalist.

Bandaragama Police had launched an investigation into the incident following a complaint lodged by the Ada Derana journalist and six arrests were made subsequently.

On 23 May 2020, a Sri Lankan NGO was harassed by a national media outlet that urged an investigation against it in Sri Lanka.

On 14 May 2020, an unidentified number of students was intimidated by the police while commemorating the final stages of Sri Lankan civil war in Jaffna.

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) yesterday called upon the Sri Lankan authorities to respect human rights in the conduct of their investigation of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, including ensuring that investigations into the alleged involvement of Sri Lankan lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah are conducted in accordance with due process and fair trial guarantees under international law. Specifically, the authorities must specify the charges against him, grant him full and immediate access to a lawyer, and investigate the circumstances of his arrest for potential rights violations, they said in a statement.

Sri Lankan lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police (CID) on 14 April pursuant to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and has since been kept in detention. No reasons were provided at the time of the arrest. During a media briefing, a Police spokesperson stated that he was arrested as a result of the evidence found against him during investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The ICJ understands that no remand or detention orders authorising his continued detention have been served, even after the lapse of 72 hours as required by Sections 7 and 9 of the PTA.

Moreover, Hizbullah was only granted limited access to legal counsel on 15 and 16 April, under the supervision of a CID official, who had insisted that the conversation be in Sinhala, in breach of attorney-client privilege. Legal access has been denied at least since 16 April. �No one questions the Government�s need and obligation to investigate the horrendous Easter Sunday attacks, but these investigations must be conducted in a way that is consistent with international law and the Sri Lankan Constitution,� said ICJ Asia-Pacific Director Frederick Rawski. �Not serving Hizbullah a remand order as required by law and denying him full and confidential access to legal counsel is unacceptable and in violation of international standards on the right to liberty.�

A Habeas Corpus petition was filed by Hizbullah�s father on 17 April, seeking his release from detention, and demanding that he be given access to his attorneys. According to the application, five persons posing as officials of the Ministry of Health entered his home and interrogated him after placing him in handcuffs. They demanded access to two of his case files, recorded a statement from him, and subsequently took him into custody at the Criminal Investigation Department.

�By allowing warrantless entry, search of premises and the arrest of persons, the Prevention of Terrorism Act violates basic due process guarantees under international law,� added Rawski. �This legal provision is one of many problematic provisions of the PTA. The ICJ reiterates it calls for the PTA to be repealed and replaced with a law that conforms with Sri Lanka�s international human rights obligations.�

According to Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, �anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.� Article 14 entitles anyone charged of a criminal offence �to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing�. Similar guarantees are enshrined under Article 13 of the Sri Lankan Constitution. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that, �Governments shall further ensure that all persons arrested or detained, with or without criminal charge, shall have prompt access to a lawyer, and in any case not later than forty-eight hours from the time of arrest or detention.�

The ICJ has consistently called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has been used to arbitrarily detain suspects for months and often years without charge or trial, facilitating torture and other abuse. The ICJ reiterated its call for the repeal and replacement of this vague and overbroad anti-terror law in line with international human rights standards and Sri Lanka�s international obligations.

On 2nd April, Ramzy Razeek wrote a post on his Facebook wall about the need for ideological jihad or ideological struggle (?????? ???????? / ?????? ?????)[5]. Jihad is a controversial and often misunderstood word. According to multiple scholars, �jihad� means �struggle�, though it�s often misunderstood to mean armed warfare or terrorism. In his post, Ramzy is specific about the kind of struggle he is talking about � �ideological� � with �pen and keyboard�, through �social and mainstream media�, �on behalf of the county and all its citizens� and �to help people understand the truth� in context of �hate propagated against Muslims�.

When we read some of Ramzy�s past Facebook posts, it becomes clear he has been a consistent advocate against racism and promoting communal harmony, equality and justice. On 1st April, he had criticized the cremation of a Muslim COVID19 victim at a time Health Ministry guidelines allowed burials[6], but referring to reports of subsequently amended government regulations[7], he called on Muslims to accept cremations if it�s proved through health science that burials are bad for health or if the government has made a reasonable decision not to allow burials for public good[8].

On 3rd April, a day after the Facebook post about �ideological struggle�, April, Ramzy announced self-censorship � that he will not make future posts related to politics or national problems in Sinhalese, as he doesn�t want to endanger his children�s life[9]. He explained that some of the responses to his above-mentioned post included death threats and calls for his arrest and that his eldest daughter had been traumatized and fearful after seeing these. That statement of self-censorship is the last visible post on his Facebook wall.

It is reported that the above-mentioned post on 2nd April, had led to his arrest and that he has been remanded till 22nd April[10]. His lawyer said that the Magistrate had asked the police to report on 22nd April whether there is actual grounds to arrest and remand him. According to the lawyer, the police had cited the ICCPR Act[11] and the Cyber Crimes Act. The ICCPR Act gives discretion for the police to arrest and detain a person and Magistrates don�t have discretion in providing bail. Last year, a writer arrested under the ICCPR Act was imprisoned for more than four (4) months until a High Court judge gave him bail[12].

We have not seen any post or comment by Ramzy that would amount to the propagation of war or advocating hatred leading to incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence which is prohibited by Article 3 (1) of the ICCPR Act[13]. When arresting Ramzy, it appears the police has not considered the detailed recommendations by the Human Rights Commission[14] of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on balancing the ICCPR Act provisions on hate speech with constitutional guarantees for free expression, six-point threshold test and the three-pronged test of legality, proportionality and necessity from Sri Lanka�s fundamental rights jurisprudence.

Ironically, there are comments that are death threats against Ramzy on Facebook, which is still available at the time of writing[15] but we have not seen news of any arrests or police actions in relation to these.

Women Nominees to be candidates of upcoming election: former Human rights commissioner Ambika Satkunarajah and women�s rights activist Nalini Ratnarajah were subjected to derogatory remarks and defamatory reporting by Tamil news website athirvunews. Ratnarajah was mainly targeted for her activism on reproductive rights and women�s rights.

The director of Vavuniya-based Thinapuyal newspaper, Sakthivelpillai Prakash and his wife alongside another editor, were summoned by Sri Lanka�s Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) on Monday, following the paper�s coverage of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The latest incident of journalist intimidation comes as the 43rd session of the Council is currently underway, where Sri Lanka has withdrawn co-sponsorship of a resolution on accountability and the UN human rights chief has urged member states to �explore all possible avenues� for justice.

Prakash told reporters that the newspaper was targeted over its coverage of events in Geneva, but expressed confusion over the summoning of his wife.

�This both surprised and amazed me,� he said. �My wife is in no way involved with Thinapuyal.�

Prakash added that another editor at Thinappuyal, S.Sasitharan had also been summoned by the TID to attend earlier today.

He went on to state that journalists for the newspaper had been repeatedly targeted by Sri Lankan security forces in the past, and said that �in this country, independent media is unable to write freely�.

The latest incident comes as the intimidation and harassment of journalists has ramped up since the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president in November last year.

On 27th of February university student activists started a protest in front of the Ministry of Higher Education building in Ward place, Colombo. The students launched a continuous protest against the long-time closure of the University of Ruhuna. Colombo court had issued a court order to remove the protest hut made by the students, and to prevent students from protesting either on the road or on the pavement of the road. They were also prevented them from entering the government office premises. This literally meant according to the order they could no longer continue the protest. The students were told that they will be arrested and charged for contempt of court unless they obeyed. The order was issued against Inter University Student Federation (IUSF) convener Rathkarawwe Jinarathana Thero, Convener of General Students Association of Ruhuna University Weranga Pushpika, Convener of General Students Association of Rajarata University Wasantha Mudalige, Co-conveners of General Students Association of Peradeniya University Mangala Maddumage, and Gihan Weerasekara and other protesters who participated in the protest with them.

Police have allegedly threatened peaceful protestors that they will be arrested unless they move into the designated agitation site. The protestors were mainly women who have taken microfinance loans and caught in a debt trap and human rights activists. Microfinance loans have pushed rural women into debt traps, with high interest rates charged. The protestors marched from Pettah railway station towards the Presidential Secretariat.

Police assaulted protesters, who were former employees of National Housing Authority, and who had blocked the Galle Road near to Presidential Secretariat. As a result of the incident, three female protesters were hospitalized.

Rathugala indigenous Vedda community leader was physically attacked after criticizing sand mining in the local area allegedly by the people engaged in sand mining.

Prasad Purnimal Jayamanne, a journalist based in Wennappuwa in Chilaw was assaulted by group linked to few politicians after he exposed unauthorized filling of a paddy field in Wennappuwa. Mr. Jayamannehas told Free Media Movement that he was assaulted by a group including the son of a former Wayamba Provincial Council member who had taken over the land filling from another former Wayamba Provincial Council member who claims to own the paddy field.

A prominent Tamil disappearances activist and her daughter were attacked and hospitalised in Batticaloa on Sunday evening.

Amala Nayagi, the vice-president of the North East Families of the Disappeared Association and the president of the Batticaloa District Association, and her daughter were deliberately hit and knocked off their motorcycle by an oncoming motorcycle with three men.

The injured Amala Nayagi and her daughter were admitted to Karadiyanaru hospital in Batticaloa. They had been travelling to Batticaloa to attend a funeral when the attack took place.

While the attackers drove off after hitting the two, local youths attempted to chase and apprehend the three men. Although two escaped, one was caught and arrested by Karadiyanaru police.

Amala Nayagi has faced many threats over the years that she has been at the forefront of campaigning with families of the disappeared in Batticaloa. The activist said she was certain today’s attack was intended to intimidate her.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the arrested attacker was linked to a paramilitary group.

We, the undersigned individuals strong condemn the recent threats, harassment and unfair treatment against human rights defender, Kumaravadivel Guruparan, by the Sri Lankan military and University Authorities. Guruparan, is a prominent human rights lawyer and academic based in Jaffna, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. He is the founder of the Adayalam Center for Policy Research, and is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Law, at the University of Jaffna. He is also a Co-Spokesperson of the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF). On 09 November, 2019, Guruparan was informed by the Jaffna University Council, that he had been barred from private legal practice as per a decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC). We condemn this decision of the UGC, which was instigated by the military, and is aimed at silencing and suppressing Guruparan’s human rights work and legal advocacy.

Over the past decade or more, Guruparan has been a strong voice for human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka. Despite living and working in a highly militarized and hostile context, he has been consistently vocal against the failure of successive Governments to hold those responsible, especially the military, accountable for crimes against civilians.

The restrictions and harassment meted out against Guruparan are direct reprisals against his human rights work. We are deeply concerned at the conduct of the UGC and the University of Jaffna (UoJ), in their treatment of a senior faculty member. Both the UGC and the UoJ are civilian institutions, responsible at least in part, for moulding and guiding generations of university students in this country. In this instance, they have shown a crippling inability to withstand pressure from the military, a trend which threatens dangerous consequences. On 21August, 2019, the military wrote to the UGC questioning the basis on which Guruparan was permitted to practice law in court. Despite there being clear provisions under the University Establishment code under which a faculty member may be permitted to engage in private practice, and the military having no standing whatsoever to question or interfere in internal university matters, the UGC took the surprising decision on 05 September, that Guruparan should no longer be permitted to practice law. The decision of the UGC was communicated to the University of Jaffna which then in turn on 09 November 2019 has decided to ask Guruparan to act according to the UGC directives.

There has been a pattern of threats, intimidation and harassment against human rights defenders, especially those working in the North and East, in the lead up to the November election. Lawyers and activists working on military accountability have been particularly targeted. The recent threats and restrictions against Guruparan are believed to be linked to his representation of victims in the Navatkuli Habeas Corpus case, which relates to the enforced disappearance of 24 boys from military custody in 1996. Following the hearing of the case on 01 August 2019, Guruparan and other lawyers were photographed by unidentified men within the court premises. On 07 August, three officers from the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) visited the Adayalam Center office and demanded staff details and information about their work. Other lawyers working on the case have also faced similar harassment and intimidation.

We reiterate that the restrictions and harassment against Guruparan are a reprisal against his human rights work. The restrictions on his legal practice is a clear attempt to subvert justice by preventing his cases from being litigated successfully in court. We stand in solidarity with Guruparan and other lawyers, journalists, and human rights defenders in the North and East, who face an increasingly tense and restrictive environment.

We also call upon the Judicial Service Commission to take note of the serious implications of such actions by the military, whose members have been named as respondents in the case that Guruparan is representing. Attempts to influence as to who appears on the other side through intimidation and undue influence is a very serious issue affecting the fundamental right to equality before the law and recourse to justice.The Hon. Attorney General who appears for the military must also appropriately advice his clients to desist from such reprehensible behaviour.

In conclusion, we condemn the UGC for aiding the military call on them to rescind the order, and clarify the rights of university legal academics staff to engage in practice.

Former Tamil political activist, Mr Kaviraj Shanmuganathan, was denied entry into Sri Lanka upon arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport on Monday.

Upon enquiry, he was told he was denied entry as he was listed as someone who worked against the sovereignty and interests of the country.

He was then told that he could voluntarily return a country of his choice or go back to the UK where he could make an application to visit with the permission of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry. He would need to contact Sri Lanka’s High Commission in London.

Tamilpolity reports that Shanmuganathan has chosen to go to Chennai where he will consider the options available to him. His family, however, have been granted entry into Sri Lanka.

Shanmuganathan was a leader of the protests in London between April to May 2009 which demanded a ceasefire in Sri Lanka and he also lobbied for an international independent investigation into the mass atrocities committed in the last stages of the war.

Shanmuganathan quit politics and engaged in humanitarian activities to support war victims in Tamil areas.

Families of the disappeared decried the surveillance and intimidation they endure at the hands of Sri Lankan security and intelligence forces, while Sri Lankan intelligence officers came out in force to photograph and carry out surveillance of a mass rally in Mullaitivu on Tuesday.

“We the mothers participating in the struggle are also panicked that we may also go missing after realizing past incidents. As a proof to our dangerous situation, the military interference and surveillance have now increased,” the families said in a letter to the United Nations.

“The military intelligence personnel are very often interrogating our participant mothers while following us secretly and monitoring our daily activities. They visit our homes in odd times and carry out interrogation. They wantonly attack our District leaders and vanish. No action by the police even though we make entries at the respective police stations. Intimidation continues.”

Leaders of the protests, many of whom are vulnerable women, have been routinely attacked and threatened by suspected intelligence personnel since the roadside protests started and gained momentum almost three years ago.

Sri Lankan police threatened residents of a Mannar village including the local priest when they protested against Sinhalese people illegally extracting sand from the village.

Residents of Thottaveli have for several years complained of illegal sand mining causing environmental damage to the area and leaving villages prone to flooding and soil erosion.

While local authorities including the divisional and district councils have repeatedly denied giving permission for sand extraction the problem has persisted due to the perpetrators producing ambiguous permits for other purposes, obtained from southern politicians.

In this latest incident on Wednesday, villagers, led by parish priest Father Alexander Benno Silva, confronted the sand miners. Following a verbal exchange, the miners initially agreed to refrain from extracting the sand.

However, a short while later, the extraction vehicles returned, this time with a police escort.

The villagers once again took to the streets and carried out a road-block to prevent the sand mining from taking place.

During a confrontation with police, one officer pushed Father Benno to prevent him from getting on his motorcycle, and continued to verbally threaten him and other residents while filming the women that were protesting.

As tensions were heightening, senior priests from the Mannar diocese and the head of the Mannar police station went to the village and attempted to defuse the situation.

The offending police officer was made to apologise to Father Benno, although villagers continued to criticise the police for protecting the sand miners.

The problem of sand mining continues to grow across the North-East, causing worsening relations between police and communities.

Tamil groups say the police use the issue as a guise to target and surveillance communities, accusing police departments of taking bribes to protect actual perpetrators.

In 2017, an unarmed Tamil man was shot dead by police in Vadamarachchi during a purported confrontation about sand mining.

Sri Lanka Police were compelled to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse a protest in Colombo staged by a group of unemployed graduates.

The unemployed graduates marched from the Fort railway station in Colombo to the Presidential Secretariat citing injustice was caused when graduates were recruited to the government sector.

Ven. Thenne Gnananada Thero requested the police to meet the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding their demands.

However, police denied their request citing the emergency state prevailing in the country.

Several students were emotional following the discharge of water cannons and tear gas stating that all they demand is employment as they underwent numerous hardships to graduate.

Ven. Thenne Gnananada Thero, Convener of Joint Unemployed Graduates Association explained that the government had voluntarily removed the names of the individuals who suffer from visually and auditory impaired from the recruitment lists along with graduates who are over 35 years of age.

The protestors attempted to commence a fast this evening opposite the Fort Railway Station, however, the attempt was foiled.

Meanwhile, during a media briefing held at the Temple Trees today, UNP MP Chandima Gamage expressed that a program to provide employment to graduates is already in effect.

MP Chandima Gamage noted that despite criticism claiming that it is a political agenda, the prime minister has already decided to appoint 20,000 graduates as Development Officers.

He confidently stated that none of the job opportunities provided by the Yahapalanaya government are political ploys and the government has already decided to recruit a total of 16,800 graduates to the program.

He finally added that these Development Officers will be promoted to the Project Officers following their training program.

The Free Media Movement strongly condemns the attack on journalist Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne and the obstruction in carrying out his professional media activities.

According to the reports received, Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne who was photographing a protest by villagers against a tipper transporting sand in the Mukkuthoduwawa area in Madurankuliya, has been attacked by a person inside the tipper truck.

It is reported that Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne’s camera equipment has also been damaged as a result of the attack.

This particular incident, is an addition to a series of incidents that have been reported pertaining to obstructions faced by journalists in carrying out their professional duties and it appears to have become an element of the anti-social behaviour of certain sections amongst the Sri Lankan society.

The development of such a trend is extremely detrimental to the existence of a democratic society.

The Free Media Movement does not approve in any form the prevention or obstruction of journalists from reporting information correctly for citizens to make informed decisions.

The Free Media Movement strongly urges the authorities to deliver justice by bringing those who disrupt the professional activities of journalists before the law, and to strengthen the required landscape in the country to maintain a free media culture. and conductive environment.

A senior Sinhala journalist was interrogated by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) for around six hours for allegedly threatening national security after reporting on the arrest of Kilinochchi’s Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).

Kilinochchi JMO and senior Tamil doctor Dr S Sivaruban was arrested by TID on August 18 for alleged links to terrorist activities.

Sinhala journalist Thinasena Rathgama was summoned to the TID in Colombo after publishing reports that the terrorism police were alleging Dr Sivaruban was involved in an assassination plot against former Defence Secretary and presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa and having links with the LTTE.

Rathgama said he had been accused of threatening national security by publishing the reports.

Dr Sivaruban, who remains in detention, was involved in several high profile cases as JMO, including providing medical reports linking the Sri Lankan army with the so called 'grease devil' attacks of 2011. He was also a key medical witness in the case of the rape and murder of a child by a member of the EPDP paramilitary group.

Freedom Media Movement vehemently condemns the threat to journalist K. Prasanna by Palani Digambaram, Minister of Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development, in connection to an article titled ‘Does the Indian Housing Scheme provide fund the Minister’s food?’ written by journalist K. Prasanna using Right to Information Act.

This article by journalist K. Prasanna highlighting the irregularities that had taken place in the implementation of the Housing Scheme under the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development, was published in the ‘Thinakkural’ Tamil Newspaper on 4.08.2019. The journalist had written this article using the RTI. Prasanna told us that Minister Digambaram and the Minister’s Coordinating Secretary contacted and threatened him following the publication of the said article. Journalist K. Prasanna has lodged a complaint with the RTI Commission. Free Media Movement views this as an act of intimidation on the freedom of the press and a threat to the Right to Information Act, thus it calls upon all parties to cooperate with journalists in their work without hindrance.

Aluthgama Police were yet to arrest the suspects identified in connection with the assault of Daily Mirror /Lankadeepa Aluthgama Correspondent Thusitha Kumara de Silva and his wife on Friday night, over an alleged exposure of artificial toddy mafia in the Kalutara District.

A large number of Kalutara District journalists representing mainstream print and electronic media organisations staged a silent demonstration yesterday afternoon demanding Aluthgama Police to bring the culprits of this attack to book without delay.

Thusitha Kumara and his wife who had been rushed to Aluthgama Base Hospital in a traumatic condition with assaults to their heads and body with clubs on Friday night had later been transferred to Kalutara General Hospital in Nagoda on Saturday. The journo and his wife who were away from home on a personal matter had rushed back hearing that an armed gang had stormed their house and was attacking it around 7.00 p.m. Friday (06). Their son was the only occupant at home during the incident. When the couple reached the scene about 10 to 15 men armed with clubs had started attacking them with threatening “you were the one who wrote about the artificial toddy industry in newspapers and exposed us”.
The gang had soon left the scene leaving the wounded couple behind who were rushed to the hospital by the neighbours.
Thusitha Kumara had lodged a complaint with the Aluthgama Police regarding the assault and had given details of five of the gang as identified to be residents of the same area. His mobile phone and cash amounting to Rs.4,800 had also been missing in the attack.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, National Organiser of Independent Media Foundation of Kalutara Suresh Wijeyarangana said the district journalists gathered in solidarity to demand justice to Thusitha Kumara and his wife.

He said Thusitha was renowned for his brave reporting against illegal artificial toddy manufacturers in the area, where several large scale detections were made by the Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel a few months back and seized 40,000 litres of chemical toddy in Aluthgama.

The demonstration was held to urge the law enforcement authorities to secure the lives of journalists who fight against this illegal and artificial toddy industry in the area carried out by the goons of top politicians and some leading underworld figures of Kosgama area.

Meanwhile, the Aluthgama Police had searched the houses of the five identified suspects who had reportedly fled the area.

A special police protection has been given to journo Thusitha Kumara and his wife at the hospital as well as to their smashed house in Hettimulla. JVP Parliamentarian Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa also took part in the demonstration.

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.”