Sampath Lakmal

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The body of freelance reporter Lakmal, a contributor to the Sinhala-language weekly Sathdina, was found in suburban Colombo on July 2. He had been shot after leaving his house to meet a contact on July 1, according to local media reports and the Colombo-based Free Media Movement (FMM).

Lakmal, 24, had gathered news for several media outlets in Colombo, according to FMM. He reported on crime and the conflict between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group. His colleagues told the Colombo-based newspaper Morning Leader that he had received threats from intelligence agents, Tamil and Sinhalese politicians, and members of the criminal underworld.