Sri Lankan Free Speech Activists Muzzled - IFJ

 Photo by Pat Roque/AP,
courtesy The Guardian

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins its Sri Lankan affiliate the Free Media Movement (FMM) in deploring the Magistrate order issued on human rights activists Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen Mahesan, restricting their right to speak and calls for an immediate lifting on the ban.
The IFJ said: “This judicial order has prevented the two activists from speaking about not only their arrest but also the human rights violations taking place in the North of Sri Lanka that they had been investigating.”

Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders Freed Without Charge

IFJ Asia

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is relieved to report that the respected human rights activists Ruki Fernando and Father Praveen were released by Sri Lankan authorities at approximately 1.30am Sri Lankan time today. Ruki Fernando, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent human rights activists and a close friend of the IFJ, was arrested alongside Fr. Praveen Mahesan, a Roman Catholic priest and the former director of the Jaffna-based Center for Peace and Reconciliation on March 16 in Kilinochchi by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division. They were charged with terrorism offenses.

(Photo: Sri Lankan national K.M Ruki Fernando before  his arrest, speaking to the media about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka © AFP PHOTO/JES AZNAR )

IFJ calls for global protest against arrest of two Sri Lankan human rights defenders

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has called for a strong international protest in response to the outrageous arrest of two highly-respected human rights advocates in Sri Lanka late last night. 

Ruki Fernando, one of Sri Lanka’s most prominent human rights activists and close friend of the IFJ, was detained alongside Fr. Praveen Mahesan, a Roman Catholic priest and the former director of the Jaffna-based Center for Peace and Reconciliation, around 10 p.m. on March 16 in Kilinochchi by Sri Lanka’s Terrorist Investigation Division. The pair was meeting villagers in the area to investigate recent police and military harassment of villagers.

As CHOGM Opens, IFJ Seeks Accountability for Free Speech Violations - IFJ

Media Release: Sri Lanka  /   15 November 2013                                                                          

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) calls on the heads of government and delegations of the Commonwealth countries, who today begin their bi-annual summit meeting in the Sri Lankan national capital of Colombo, to lay appropriate stress on the need for the restoration of democratic liberties and media freedom in the host country, after a quarter century or more when these have been under severe stress.

Sri Lanka media activists fear crackdown after arrests

Mr Sunil Jayasekera, spokesman for the Sri Lankan Free Media Movement (FMM), talks to journalists in Colombo on Monday, Nov 4, 2013. A media rights group on Monday expressed fears for the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka after Colombo grilled two Australian activists and seized computer data before kicking them out. -- PHOTO: AFP

A media rights group Monday expressed fears for the safety of journalists in Sri Lanka after Colombo grilled two Australian activists and seized computer data before kicking them out.
The Free Media Movement (FMM) said it expected a crackdown by the authorities following last week's questioning of the two International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) staffers in Colombo.

Sri Lanka detains, then releases two visiting journalists

Jacquiline Park

 Bob Dietz/CPJ Asia Program Coordinator

With two weeks to go until the start of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka, the government's anti-media policies remain a pressing topic. There are two links below to statements by media support groups today relating to the government's wrongful and heavy handed response to a media workshop held in Colombo this week.

IFJ Condemns the Detention of Asia-Pacific Directors

The International Federation of Journalists condemns the detention of Asia-Pacific Director Jacqui Park and Asia-Pacific Deputy Director Jane Worthington in Sri Lanka. The two have recently been allowed to leave after being detained without charge since Wednesday October 30.

Aussie reporter's data 'erased' in Colombo

J.Park at her laptop ( Kathmandu Juky 2013)

Sri Lankan authorities wiped all the data from the computer of an Australian media rights activist as she and a colleague were kicked out of the country, a local rights group says.

Jacqui Park and fellow Australian Jean Worthington were packed onto a plane that flew out of Colombo airport a day after authorities ordered their expulsion for "anti-government" activities.

Sri Lanka: RSF calls on UNHRC to ensure the safety of FMM and IFJ personal

To the attention of : Ajith Sunghay
Human Rights Officer , Asia-Pacific
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Dear Mr Sunghay,
A raid on a workshop co-organized by the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) was conducted on Wednesday and have lead to the arrest of FMM and IFJ members, among them Jacqueline Park, by officers from the Emigration and Immigration Department.  Members of the  Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist organisation Bodu Bala Sena, also present, have threatened the owners of the venue, the Hotel Renuka, where the workshop is conducted, not to allow FMM and IFJ to conduct the workshop on Thursday. They have threatened the owners to be present at the venue in the morning to force the cancellation of the workshop.

International day against IMPUNITY: Investigate and take action on crimes against media and journalists in S. Asia

November 23 2012 is a day of action against impunity for attacks on journalists. This is a global observance which commemorates the thirty-two journalists killed in the Ampatuan massacre in Maguindanao province in the Philippines. It is also an occasion for the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) to take stock of the distressing reality of impunity in the region and resolve to combat it through country-specific, though coordinated action.