Journalists sue over 'unlawful' arrests
Say website raid, detention were a gross violation of their rights
Journalists protest at the recent launch of a campaign against what they say is a government crackdown on news sites.
- by ucanews.com reporter, Colombo
- Sri Lanka
- July 18, 2012
Six journalists filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court in Colombo yesterday demanding their arrests last month be declared illegal and to demand compensation.
The journalists were all staffers from www.srilankamirror.com, a website critical of the government, which was raided last month. Nine journalists, including the six plaintiffs, were arrested during the raid and later released on bail.
They say their arrests and the raid were a gross violation of their rights and unconstitutional. The authorities say they were arrested for publishing inflammatory anti-government material and false and malicious gossip about prominent people.
“We are seeking 5 million rupees (about US$37,000) for each of them in compensation,” said Kalum Shirantha Rodrigo, the website’s chief editor and one of the plaintiffs.
“All we have done is exposed corruption and reported acts against democracy,” he added.
The website was among five blocked by the government last year, but access was restored following a court case.
Rodrigo said the latest raid has effectively put the website out of business.
“We ran the news site with funding coming from advertising revenue but this has dried up thanks to this incident. Businessmen have been frightened off,’’ he said.
“Pro-government media have trashed the image of the news site and our journalists as a result of the raid,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mangala Samaraweera, an opposition MP, also filed a lawsuit yesterday against the blocking of www.lanka x-news.com website, which shares an office with the Sri Lanka Mirror website.
He said fundamental right to freedom of thought, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to freedom of speech and expression have been violated.
“We are asking 50 million rupees in compensation,” he said.
The petitions follow the recent launch of a campaign by journalists and opposition lawmakers against what they say is government suppression of news websites in Sri Lanka.
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The journalists were all staffers from www.srilankamirror.com, a website critical of the government, which was raided last month. Nine journalists, including the six plaintiffs, were arrested during the raid and later released on bail.
They say their arrests and the raid were a gross violation of their rights and unconstitutional. The authorities say they were arrested for publishing inflammatory anti-government material and false and malicious gossip about prominent people.
“We are seeking 5 million rupees (about US$37,000) for each of them in compensation,” said Kalum Shirantha Rodrigo, the website’s chief editor and one of the plaintiffs.
“All we have done is exposed corruption and reported acts against democracy,” he added.
The website was among five blocked by the government last year, but access was restored following a court case.
Rodrigo said the latest raid has effectively put the website out of business.
“We ran the news site with funding coming from advertising revenue but this has dried up thanks to this incident. Businessmen have been frightened off,’’ he said.
“Pro-government media have trashed the image of the news site and our journalists as a result of the raid,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mangala Samaraweera, an opposition MP, also filed a lawsuit yesterday against the blocking of www.lanka x-news.com website, which shares an office with the Sri Lanka Mirror website.
He said fundamental right to freedom of thought, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to freedom of speech and expression have been violated.
“We are asking 50 million rupees in compensation,” he said.
The petitions follow the recent launch of a campaign by journalists and opposition lawmakers against what they say is government suppression of news websites in Sri Lanka.
Related reports
Journalists react to news websites clampdown
Women face many media challenges
Journalists call for media freedom bill
