Sri Lanka detained journalist says threatened daily; quizzed in court over writing

Nov 16, 2008 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan journalist who had been detained for over eight months had been questioned about what he wrote, and had also revealed to court that he had been repeatedly threatened, a media report said. Tissainayagam had told court on May 9 after he had seen another arrested colleague being tortured, and had been told the same would happen to him. The prosecution's position was that he was lying, the report said.

The defence had asked for a medical officer who had reported on it to be called to court.

A government lawyer had questioned whether he had visited a Tamil Tiger controlled area with the permission of the Government and questioned him on an article he had written in November 2007 and asked him to read out portions of it.

Tissainayagam had read out the article and said he stood by it and added that as a journalist he had expressed his views, The Sunday Times said.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had launched a campaign to free Tissainayagam saying it was a trial on the freedom of expression.

Senior journalist J S Tissainayagam's case had been taken up Friday in Colombo High Court but the judicial medical officer summoned to give evidence was not