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Ekanayake further said that despite lodging complaints with the Sri Lankan police and other authorities, he has not received any protection. He is now living in hiding, fearing for his life and unable to continue his work as a journalist.

The former editor of the same newspaper, Rohana Kumara, was assassinated on Sept. 7, 1999, after he published information against the government of the day. Kumara’s assassination is a well-known case in Sri Lanka and to date no one has been arrested or prosecuted for his murder.

Ekanayake has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody on two occasions for periods of ten months in relation to his investigative journalism. He was held under provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, but was released on both occasions due to lack of evidence.

On the first occasion, he was conducting an investigation into disappearances in the western peninsular area of Kalpitiya in Puttalam district. He received taped interviews from a group of people in the area against the officer-in-charge of the local police station, which revealed that the officer was engaged in corrupt practices to extort money from small businessmen including illicit liquor traders and fisher folk.

Ekanayake was stopped at a checkpoint by eight officers dressed in civilian clothes, who took him to the Kalpitiya police station. There he was severely assaulted with S-lon pipes, punched and kicked. He lost two teeth in the assault.

Following the assault he was produced before a magistrate’s court on false charges of trying to sully the reputation of the Sri Lankan president and engaging in false propaganda. In detention he was questioned by a senior intelligence officer about the information he was collecting and asked whether the information was sent to foreign journals and human rights organizations. However, he was not prosecuted on any of the charges.

Later, he was again arrested while collecting information relating to disappearances and other human rights abuses. He was remanded on false charges and released after a further ten months.

Since his release he has been receiving death threats, and in recent weeks unknown persons have been visiting his house at night to make inquiries about him. He says he is safe only because he is in hiding, but is afraid that his life is in danger from the persons who are pursuing him due to his work as a journalist.

As a journalist Ekanayake knows that his fears are well founded. His peers are threatened, intimidated, kidnapped, beaten and even assassinated in events that appear increasingly state sanctioned.

Under both domestic and international law the government of Sri Lanka is responsible for securing the safety of Senaka Ekanayake, ensuring that he has a fair trial and that his complaints are adequately filed and investigated. The officers charged with his false arrest and torture should be interdicted. Should their illegal conduct be proven they must be charged accordingly, and the victim provided with compensation and all necessary protection.

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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia. His blog can be read at http://srilanka-lawlessness.com.)