The Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association strongly condemns the government’s attempt to suppress freedom of expression and press freedom through police action, including the unlawful summoning of journalist Tharindu Jayawardena to the Gampola Police Station in connection with his journalistic work, and the request made by the Sri Lanka Police to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) to cancel the broadcasting licence of the Hiru Media Network.
The police have instructed journalist Tharindu Jayawardena to appear at the Gampola Police Station at 11:00 a.m. on 26 December 2025 to provide a statement in relation to a complaint arising from his investigative reporting that exposed multiple instances of fraud and corruption connected to the Ambuluwawa Biodiversity Complex and its affiliated institutions. In a separate incident, the Hiru Media Network broadcast a news report on a cannabis raid, which revealed an alleged assault on a police officer involved in the operation, as well as reported links between the ownership of the cannabis plantation and parties connected to the National People’s Power (NPP) government. Claiming that the report constituted misinformation, the police have requested the TRCSL to revoke the broadcasting licence of the Hiru Media Network.
In both instances, it is evident that the police have intervened in the independent and lawful journalistic activities of both the journalist and the media institution with the intention of carrying out unlawful repression. If inaccurate reporting has occurred, there exist recognized professional standards, regulatory procedures, and legal mechanisms to address such matters. Instead, the government appears to be using the police to target journalists and media organizations that refuse to submit to political pressure.
These actions form part of a broader pattern of repression during the past 15 months of the NPP government, marked by increasing restrictions on media freedom and the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. The Sri Lanka Working Journalists’ Association expresses deep concern that the government, which came to power appearing to safeguard press freedom, is in fact a wolf in sheep’s clothing, demonstrating clear authoritarian tendencies.
We urge the government to refrain from these shameless attempts to enforce media repression through the expansion of a police-state approach, and instead to create an environment that genuinely protects press freedom, editorial independence, and journalistic ethics in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, we call upon all individuals and organizations who value freedom of expression to stand together against the growing pressure imposed on media freedom in Sri Lanka through repressive laws and state interference.
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