Gotabaya Rajapaksa Archives - Committee to Protect Journalists

People protest Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa outside his office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 11, 2020, demanding investigations into disappearances during the civil war. Journalists are wary of the Rajapaksa brothers' return to power. (AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lankan journalists turn to self-censorship under Rajapaksas as hope for justice fades

April 28, 2020 2:40 PM EDT

Nadesapillai Vithyatharan is a rare survivor, one of the few journalists abducted during Sri Lanka’s civil war who lives to tell the story.

A vigil for journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga is seen in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on January 15, 2009. A U.S. court recently dismissed a civil suit against former Secretary of Defense Gotabaya Rajapaksa over his alleged involvement in the killing. (Reuters/Buddhika Weerasinghe)

US court dismisses suit against former Sri Lankan defense secretary over murder of Sri Lankan journalist Wickramatunga

October 22, 2019 1:07 PM EDT

New York, October 22, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists is dismayed by a U.S. District Court’s decision to dismiss a civil lawsuit against former Sri Lankan Secretary of Defense Gotabaya Rajapaksa over his alleged involvement in the 2009 killing of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga.

A memorial for Sri Lankan newspaper editor Lasantha Wickramatunga is seen in Colombo on January 15, 2009. Today, a California court unsealed a civil lawsuit against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a dual U.S.-Sri Lankan citizen, seeking damages for his alleged involvement in the killing. (Reuters/Buddhika Weerasinghe)

Civil case filed in US over murder of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga

April 15, 2019 3:54 PM EDT

Washington, D.C., April 15, 2019 — Today, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles, unsealed a civil lawsuit against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a dual U.S.-Sri Lankan citizen, seeking damages for his alleged involvement in the 2009 killing of journalist Lasantha Wickramatunga,…

Sri Lanka moves to silence NGOs, press groups

July 9, 2014 11:01 AM EDT

The Sri Lankan government has taken yet another step to silence critical media coverage, banning non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from holding press conferences and issuing press releases, as well as running workshops or training sessions. The action, announced Sunday by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defense, left the country’s many press groups wondering whether they are even…

Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa responded nastily to a question from The Sunday Leader, an editor says. (AFP/Ishara S.Kodikara)

Sri Lankan editor needs backup after minister’s tirade

July 10, 2012 11:41 AM EDT

As far as Frederica Jansz is concerned, “The Sri Lankan media have been completely cowed into submission by this regime with the exception of The Sunday Leader. It is Mahinda Rajapaksa’s biggest success story next to winning the war.”