Sri Lanka frees female journalist after four months without charge

A Tamil journalist held without charge in Sri Lanka for four months was released Thursday. Munusami Parameshwaree, an ethnic Tamil journalist working for Sinhala newspaper Mawbima was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division of Sri Lanka police on November 21 last year on allegations of having links with Tamil terrorists.

Tamil journalist Mounasamy Parameswaree, centre, is greeted by a well-wisher as she comes out of the Magistrate court in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 22, 2007. The Terrorism Investigation Division of Sri Lanka on Thursday released Parameswaree after the country’s Supreme Court ordered her release. Parameswary was arrested and detained without charges for more than three months. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

“Parameshawaree’s release is a triumph for truth and justice, and also demonstrates the clear danger of the draconian anti-terrorism and emergency regulations, which are a serious, and continuing threat to media freedom in Sri Lanka,” the Free Media Movement (FMM) reacted in a statement.

“While FMM is pleased that all allegations against Parameshwaree are relegated to the dustbin of history, we reiterate our concern for the many journalists facing similar threats and harassment and call all those in support of democracy to support our work in securing and strengthening media freedom and fundamental rights in Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered her released Tuesday.

“However, we note with regret that even after the Supreme Court was informed that her release order had been sent to Magistrate Court, the police held Parameshwaree for another 24 hours in custody,” FMM said. “We underscore that Parameshwaree was released without any charges against her.”

The FMM statement noted that the day after she was arrested, three Sinhala newspapers carried headline stories stating that as a result of the statements to the police by her female friend, who was arrested with along with her, they were able to recovered 10kg of high explosives and 10 claymore mines. “It was later discovered that the story was entirely fabricated and planted in the media. Even worse, several ministers went on record saying that she was being held in custody because of her connection with terrorists,” it said.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse (centre) speaks to Special Forces soldiers at the former Tamil Tiger rebel stronghold of Vakarai, 03 Feb 2007. The Mawbima publisher’s arrest was part of a “campaign of harassment” against the newspaper which began after it published articles criticising Rajapakse and reporting on accusations of human rights violations committed by his brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse.(Eranga Jayawardena)

“We note with deep regret that because of these baseless public allegations the family and friends of Parameshwaree will invariably continue to face a great deal of public opprobrium and ridicule.”

The Mawbima newspaper is owned by a close ally of former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera who was stripped of his portfolio earlier this year.

On February 26, the publisher of the Sunday Standard and Mawbima newspaper Dushyantha Basnayake was arrested. The editors of Mawbima told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that Basnayake’s arrest was part of a “campaign of harassment” against the newspaper which began after it published articles criticising Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and reporting on accusations of human rights violations committed by his brother, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse.

The bank accounts of Mawbima were sealed on March 13, effectively halting publication of the newspaper. “This is a blatant violation of press freedom and seems to be part of a methodical approach by the Sri Lankan government to intimidate independent media into submission,” said Christopher Warren, president of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).