VIDEO: President decides to pardon Tissainayagam - GL
May 3, 2010 11:09 am
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to grant a Presidential Pardon to Journalist J.S. Tissainayagam, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said a short while ago. Tissainayagam was released on bail on January 11.
Tissainayagam was arrested on March 7, 2008 by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka Police. He was charged with attempting to cause the commission of acts of violence or racial or communal disharmony relating to articles he published in a North Eastern Monthly magazine in 2006 and 2007.
On August 31, 2009, the High Court in Sri Lanka sentenced Tissainayagam to a total of 20 years rigorous imprisonment, for arousing “communal feelings” by writing and publishing articles that criticized the government’s treatment of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians affected by the war, and for raising money to fund the magazine in which the articles were published in furtherance of terrorism. Tissainayagam appealed the ruling, and was granted bail on January 11, 2010 pending the outcome of his appeal.
Coincidently today is world Press Freedom Day. World press Freedom day is celebrated across the world every third of May representing an opportunity to commemorate the fundamental principle of press freedom.
