International media-rights watchdog, Reporters Without Borders together with its partner organization, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka (JDS), have condemned a recent attack on a freelance Tamil journalist, near the northern city of Jaffna.
Sivagnanam Selvatheepan, a 29-year old journalist who freelances for Tamil media, was attacked by unknown men wearing helmets in Jaffna on the night of April 14.
According to media sources, Selvatheepan who has been contributing to a couple of Tamil national media outlets in Colombo was on his way home when he was attacked with iron rods by two unknown men on a motorbike near Puraporukki in Vadamaradchchi on the Sinhala Tamil New Year day night.
“The attackers have followed him for a couple of miles before stopping him. They questioned him and ensured his identity before launching this cowardly attack,” a fellow journalist in Jaffna told the JDS via phone.
Badly injured Selvatheepan has been admitted to the Jaffna base hospital and a complaint has also been lodged with the Kopay police.
Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka says that Selvatheepan along with his mother has appeared before the government’s Lesson Leant and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to give testimonies on the disappearance of his brother, who had gone missing in Batticaloa.
According to reports, he has informed his friends about unknown people following his movements and issuing threats, the statement said.
Sri Lanka’s Tamil Journalists’ Association has also vehemently condemned the attack on Selvatheepan and urged the state authorities to launch an impartial investigation into the attack and end the prevailing culture of impunity on the attacks on journalists and media workers.
“The attack on Selvatheepan has taken place amid mounting intimidations and harassment on journalists in the country as a whole and Jaffna in particular. Concrete actions should be taken to end the culture of impunity and to ensure a fear-free atmosphere for journalists to work independently,” Sri Lanka’s Tamil Journalists’ Association has said.
