TISL staff/ journalists threatened

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) staff members and journalists, who participated in the investigative journalism workshops organised by the institution, have expressed grave concern over the safety of their lives due to death threats they have been receiving for the past few months.

TISL Senior Manager Shan Wijetunga speaking to Daily Mirror said he has been receiving death threats via calls and text messages since May and added the frequency has escalated since the past month.

“The individual or the group that is out to intimidate us had even contacted my wife and had threatened her and my son. We are extremely concerned about our safety as well as that of all those who are linked to the series of investigative journalism workshops we arranged countrywide,” he said.

Wijetunga said that the speaker of the workshop – senior journalist and editor Victor Ivan, co-trainer Jayasiri Jayatunga, two TISL staff members and several journalists who participated in the workshop have also received similar death threats and intimidations from the same phone number.

“I lodged a complaint with the Police, personally on October 15 and the Executive Director of TISL also lodged a complaint last Monday. The Colombo Crimes Division has started an investigation into the matter,” Wijetunga said.