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Tamil journalist and Chairman of the Mullaitivu Press Club Shanmugam Thavaseelan has been summoned to court later this month over a complaint filed by a Sri Lankan navy officer in 2019 after he reported on a disappearances rally in Mullaitivu.
On 20 April 2019, Thavaseelan was arrested by Mullaitivu police following a complaint filed by a navy officer attached to the Gotabaya Naval Base for reportedly obstructing his duties.
Thavaseelan was reporting on a Tamil families of the disappeared rally on 7 April 2019 when the Sri Lankan navy officer was spotted taking photographs of protestors and asked to identify himself. He was prevented from escaping by the crowds at the rally and identified himself as a navy officer. Thavaseelan had asked the navy officer to identify himself on behalf of the protesters.
Mullaitivu police were called to the scene, but after they did not turn up, the crowds escorted the officer to the nearby Gotabaya navy camp and asked personnel there to confirm his identity. Following his arrest in 2019, Thavaseelan maintained that the complaint was based on false allegations and was likely an act of revenge from the officer.
Both Thavaseelan and the navy officer are required to attend the next court date on 28 March 2024 for further hearing and a charge sheet has also been filed. Since 2019, Thavaseelan has been present at the court hearings however, the navy officer has failed to attend, causing delays to the case. Mullaitivu Magistrate Court Judge Dharmalingam Pradeepan issued an arrest warrant for the navy officer after he failed to attend the last hearing on 12th September 2023 and adjourned the case to 29th February 2024.
Thavaseelan has been subject to harassment, intimidation and violence for his work on multiple occassions. In 2022, he was attacked by an unidentified man at Mallavi petrol station while reporting on a story on the fuel shortage on the island. In October 2020, Thavaseelan alongside another Tamil journalist, Kanapathipillai Kumanan were attacked with iron rods while reporting on a story on illegal logging timber smuggling.
Thavaseelan and his colleagues continue to face reprisals for reporting on issues, including Sinhalisation and militarisation in the district.
