In a joint letter addressed to the Sri Lankan Inspector General of Police, Chandana Wickramaratne, six media organisations express concern over the continued arrest and intimidation of journalists on the island.
The letter addressed the arrest of journalist Keerthi Ratnayake, who allegedly provided information to the Indian embassy. The Media Organization Collective highlighted Ratnayake's life "could be in danger" and requested he "be investigated under the prescribed legal provisions and that his life be protected against all harm."
Ratnayake writes on defence and political affairs for the website LankaEnews and his journalism had previously exposed a police divisions plot to kill the drug kingpins Makandure Madush and Kosgoda Tharaka whilst they were detained in police custody.
On 14 August, Ratnayake was arrested by the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) under allegations of "fabricating evidence". The CCD then raided his home, seized his laptop, mobile phone and other devices and was not allowed to consult with his lawyer or speak to his family members.
Ratnayake was kept at the CCD headquarters and was eventually turned over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on 19 August. The CID extended his detention to 90 days and raided his friend's homes.
"We call on you to guarantee that investigations against journalists will be within the due legal provisions at all times since actions that lead to intimidation and threaten journalists could hamper their freedom and restrict their professional work… We also call on you to ensure that specific reasons for the arrest of journalists be made public at all times," stated the Media Organization Collective.
The six organizations labelled the Media Organization Collective, comprised of Federation of Media Employers Trade Union (FMETU), Free Media Movement (FMM), Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum (SLMMF), Sri Lanka Working Journalists' Association (SLWJA), Sri Lanka Young Journalists' Association (SLYJA), Tamil Media Alliance (TMA).
The International Federations of Journalists (IFJ) also commented, stating, "the Sri Lankan government is employing different means to harass journalists, invoking dubious terrorism charges under the problematic PTA. We urge the Sri Lankan government to stop using the PTA as a means to silence the voice of journalists and ensure that those taken into custody are released safely. Keerthi Ratnayake must be released immediately."
Read more here: Sri Lanka's expanded PTA violates basic liberties warn UN experts
The Media Organization Collective's letter also mentioned that "a group of unidentified people claiming to be from the CID tried to enter the residence of" Ramasamy Sivarajah, journalist and editor of the Thamilan newspaper.
Read more here: Men claiming to be CID demand to search Tamil journalist's house
Read the full letter here.
