Committee to Protect Journalists

Stories from Committee to Protect Journalists

Bob Dietz
World leaders note Sri Lankan press abuses
Committee to Protect Journalists
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Sri Lanka got special mention in the statements of world leaders marking World Press Freedom Day, May 3. It's not surprising. The government in Colombo has coupled an all-out effort to end its war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam with an assault on critics in the Sri Lankan media. U.S. President Barack Obama's statement mentioned the egregious case of J.S. Tissainayagam, on trial in Colombo and accused of terrorism because of his writing.

Sri Lanka on State Department's Radar
Committee to Protect Journalists
Friday, April 3rd, 2009

The dire situation for journalists in Sri Lanka who have fallen out of favor with the government has not gone unnoticed at the U.S. State Department. On March 23, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a letter to Senator Robert Casey, who chaired the Senate Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Sri Lanka on February 24.Seven senators had written to her about their concerns in Sri Lanka after the meeting.

P Devakumar
Paranirupasingham Devakumar
Committee to Protect Journalists
Wednesday, May 28th, 2008
Paranirupasingham Devakumar, Jaffna correspondent for the Maharaja Television news channel News 1st, was stabbed to death by a group of unidentified people on Wednesday evening, according to Susil Kindelpitiya, a Maharaja Television news director who spoke with CPJ by telephone this morning.