SLPI and RSF condemn Chamuditha attack

The Paris-based international journalism not-for profit body, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Colombo-based Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) condemning the recent threats, attacks and intimidation of media personnel have called on the authorities to ensure that all forms of harassment of journalists in Sri Lanka is ended forthwith.

SLPI, a professional collective representing the media industry, said in a statement said it condemns any attacks or threats that prevent journalists from executing their duties.

“The SLPI is concerned with the implications affecting media freedom and the safety and security of those engaged in the media profession. It urges the law enforcement authorities to take swift actions for a safe and secure environment for journalists that ensure prevalence of democratic ideals and a free media in Sri Lanka,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, the RSF calls for an independent investigation into an attack by armed men on the home of well-known Lankan TV journalist Chamuditha Samarawickrama after he received death threats linked to his work. Those responsible for this punitive raid must be identified, and the authorities must end all forms of harassment of journalists, RSF says.

The RSF in a statement said: After a loud noise woke Chamuditha Samarawickrama at around 2:10 a.m. on 14 February, he heard shots being fired in his direction. He later found that the shots had shattered some of the windows of his home and that faeces had been thrown at walls.

Surveillance camera footage showed that at least four masked gunmen stormed his home in Piliyandala, a suburb of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. To get into the compound, they threatened a security guard by holding a gun to his temple, and afterwards they left in the white van in which they had arrived.

The police have not established the motive for the attack but Samarawickrama had recently reported receiving several phoned death threats in connection with his work,

The host of two Hiru TV shows, “Salakuna” and “Patthare Wisthare,” Samarawickrama also conducts interviews on his own YouTube channel called “Truth with Chamuditha.”

In a recent interview, a former police officer who has obtained asylum in Britain criticised the methods used by the Rajapaksa family, one of whose members, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is the current president.

“The modus operandi used in this attack on Chamuditha Samarawickrama recalls the height of the persecution of Sri Lankan journalists,” said Daniel Bastard of RSF. “The perpetrators and instigators of this unacceptable act of intimidation must be identified and prosecuted. We urge the government to end all forms of harassment of the country’s journalists.”

Sri Lanka is ranked 127th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2021 World Press Freedom Index.