DSS Apologizes and Frees Journalists Wrongfully Arrested in Plateau State
October 5, 2025
UK Launches Dedicated Journalist Safety Officers Across All Police Forces
October 5, 2025
October 05, 2025 – Sri Lanka –
A coalition of more than 140 organizations and individuals has publicly denounced Sri Lankan authorities for the persistent targeting of Tamil photojournalist Kumanan Kanapathipillai, urging the government to end intimidation tactics against him and other Tamil media figures.
The statement, dated 3 October 2025, accuses security agencies of closely monitoring Kumanan and subjecting him to harassment as retaliation for reporting on militarization, land seizures, protest suppression, and issues impacting families of the disappeared in the Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern provinces. It warns that such intimidation amounts to a breach of basic rights and erodes democratic norms.
Kumanan’s ordeal is not new: in 2020, he and another journalist were physically attacked while covering illegal tree logging. In 2024, Sri Lanka’s Counter-Terrorism Investigation Division (CTID) interrogated his family and associates. More recently, on 17 August 2025, Kumanan was summoned for a prolonged seven-hour interrogation, during which authorities framed his journalistic activities as “terrorism.”
His treatments coincide with Sri Lanka’s scrutiny by the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, during which government representatives sought to justify the harassment with unsubstantiated accusations of financial crimes and terrorism.
The signatories—comprising journalists, lawyers, academics, civil society actors, and international groups—argue that the assault on Kumanan is part of a broader campaign to silence Tamil-language press and force self-censorship through fear. They criticize the National People’s Power (NPP) government for failing to deliver on its pledge of systemic reform, instead perpetuating the suppressive practices of prior regimes.
The statement calls for the immediate cessation of surveillance, harassment, and counter-terror law misuse, and demands that Sri Lanka honor constitutional safeguards for freedom of expression. It also appeals to the international community to monitor the country’s treatment of Tamil media and press freedom.
In sum, the démarche is a clarion call against the chilling of dissent and journalistic activism in Tamil areas, spotlighting Kumanan’s treatment as a microcosm of entrenched repression that threatens media independence and minority rights in Sri Lanka.
Reference –
https://island.lk/civil-society-alleges-harassment-of-mullaitivu-based-journalist/
