The paper’s founder and former editor-in-chief, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was killed last January after receiving a similar death threat three weeks earlier. No one has yet been prosecuted for his murder.
Last month, Dileesha Abeysundera, who works for the Sinhala-language edition of the Sunday Leader, was threatened. The newspaper has suffered numerous serious attacks on its staff and offices in the past.
Over the past three years, numerous journalists have been detained in Sri Lanka while others have fled the country. At least 14 media workers have been killed. Investigations haven’t resulted in prosecutions. For more on this issue, see the AI report, “Sri Lanka: Silencing dissent.”
Amnesty International has issued an urgent action appeal calling on the Sri Lankan government to ensure the safety of Frederica Jansz and Munza Mushataq, and to investigate the death threats received by them and the attacks on other Sri Lankan journalists and media workers. Please take action in response to our appeal and write to President Mahinda Rajapaksa (email: [email protected]). Thanks for your help.