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Sri Lankan Journalist Freed at Last July 19th, 2010
J.S. Tissainayagam
J.S. Tissainayagam, the Tamil Sri Lankan journalist who was sentenced unjustly to 20 years hard labor in 2009 on charges of inciting violence, was freed two months ago and recently granted a Presidential pardon. The pardon came after months of international pressure from human rights advocates and the US government.
Journalists in Sri Lanka have been threatened, murdered and disappeared. Most continue to operate under self-censorship.
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.”
