Human Rights Day Marks 100th Day of Unjust Conviction of Tamil Journalist

December 10th, 2009

Today, International Human Rights Day, marks the one hundredth day of the draconian sentence for Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainayagam. Tissainayagam was given a harsh sentence of twenty years of hard labor for what has widely been seen as trumped up charges and a forced confession. Ms. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement at the 12th session of the Human Rights Council,

“We should all be dismayed by the recent sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment imposed on Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, who had been critical of the army’s treatment of Tamil civilians. His conviction raises serious concerns about respect for the right to freedom of expression.”

Read more about the plight of Tissainayagam here

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