2 March 2007
Amnesty International Malaysia
Urgent Action
Sri Lanka: Newspaper Director and journalist held
Dushyantha Basnayake, Director of Sinhala newspaper Mawbima, was detained in
the capital Colombo, on 26 February by officials from the Terrorist
Investigation Division (TID). Another journalist from the same newspaper,
Munusamy Parameshawary, has been held without charge by the TID for the last
three months. Amnesty International has received reports of an additional 16
journalists held by the TID since 5 February 2006. The journalists are being
held incommunicado and are at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
Dushyantha Basnayake was reportedly detained under the Prevention of
Terrorism Act (PTA) after being questioned in his office by TID officials. The
PTA allows for people to be held incommunicado for up to three months. It is
thought his detention may be connected to recent articles published in Mawbima
about human rights violations in Sri Lanka. Mawbima has carried articles that
criticized President Mahinda Rajapakse's support for a military solution to the
ongoing conflict between government security forces and the armed group, the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Munusamy Parameshawary, also a journalist for Mawbima, has been detained
under the PTA since 22 November 2006, on suspicion of having links with the
LTTE. She had written articles concerning the alleged perpetration of
"disappearances" by security force personnel. She has not been charged with any
offence. For the first month of her detention, she was denied access to
lawyers, and all journalists, including the editor of Mawbima.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION The PTA, introduced in 1979 despite widespread
opposition, is incompatible with basic international human rights laws and
practices. It was used to intimidate and harass political opponents, and
fostered a culture of impunity. A moratorium was placed on the use of the PTA
after the signing of the ceasefire agreement in Sri Lanka in 2002. However,
new security laws which came into force in December 2006 appear to condone the
use of the PTA.
In recent months there has been a clampdown on press freedom in Sri Lanka.
The "disappearance" of journalist Subramaniam Ramachandran on 15 February is an
example of acts of violence and intimidation against journalists and human
rights activists taking place in areas controlled by the Sri Lankan government.
There have been recent reports of a number of people "disappearing" or being
abducted by the security forces or armed groups. Such people are often called
or taken in "for questioning" and held incommunicado. No receipts or records of
their detention are made available, and the official mechanisms for reporting
such events, such as through the National Human Rights Commission, are often
unable to locate the missing people.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please put your name at the end of the letters below & E-mail it back to us (
[EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we will fax it for you. Please forward to appeal to
your own mailing list if possible.
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H.E. Christopher Daneshan Cassie Chetty
High Commissioner,
No 12 Jalan Keranji Dua
Off Jalan Kedondong
Ampang Hilir
55000 Kuala Lumpur
2 March 2007
Your Excellency,
Release Dushyantha Basnayake & Munusamy Parameshawary immediately
I would like to express concern about the case of Dushyantha Basnayake,
Director of Sinhala newspaper Mawbima, who is being held incommunicado by the
Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) in Colombo. I am also concerned about
Munusamy Parameshawary, a journalist from the same newspaper who has been
detained under the PTA since 22 November 2006.
I call on the authorities to ensure that Dushyantha Basnayake, Munusamy
Parameshawary and other journalists being held by the TID are not tortured or
ill-treated, and that they are allowed immediate and unrestricted access to
their families, a lawyer of their choice and any medical treatment they may
require.
I also call on the authorities to release Dushyantha Basnayake, Munusamy
Parameshawary and other journalists held by the TID immediately and
unconditionally, unless they are charged with a recognizably criminal offence.
Lastly, I call on the authorities to immediately stop the misuse of the
emergency security laws introduced in December 2006, and to ensure that
official procedures for recording and reporting detentions are adhered to.
Yours sincerely,
(Name/Location)
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