Information on the arrests and trials of Sri Lankan journalists between 1979 and 1985 [LKA2510]

Very little information on this topic is available in the publicly-available published sources which are regularly consulted by the IRBDC. Please see the attached clipping from the Far Eastern Economic Review, dated 16 October 1986, which details the types of restrictions which are imposed upon Sri Lankan journalists and the possible penalties. No information is available, however, regarding trials of journalists in Sri Lanka.

In Patricia Hyndman's Sri Lanka: Serendipidy Under Seige, a reference is made to an incident which occurred in 1983, namely the detention of a press photographer during a demonstration in support of International Women's Day. Another account of the treatment of journalists is provided in Lament for Lanka, a book containing a series of interviews conducted by Alison Wynne and published by The Christian Conference of Asia. Please see the attached section entitled "Sivanayagam" from this book. There is also a reference to the treatment of Sri Lankan journalists in L'information dans le monde, but this covers the period of October 1987. It is mentioned in this source that a journalist of the daily paper The Island was detained for four days for having written an article critical of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). Finally, an article from The Toronto Star, dated 19 August 1989, is attached which deals with the attempted assassination of Sinnadirai Thiruchelvam, a Sri Lankan journalist who wrote articles that were disliked by the IPKF. This last source is attached for your information even though it does not correspond to your requested time frame.