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Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has published a list of 37 world leaders "who crack down massively on press freedom."

The "Press Freedom Predators" list for the year 2021 published on Monday (05) also includes Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

RSF noted that Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s election as president in November 2019 returned Sri Lanka to the darkest hours of its recent history.

"A retired army lieutenant-colonel, “Gota” was defence minister while his brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was president from 2005 to 2015, the so-called “dark decade” during which the military finally crushed the Tamil armed separatists by dint of a great deal of bloodshed, ending the decades-old civil war in 2009," RSF said.

Highlighting that much of the Sri Lankan press is now censoring itself, either because of what he did in the past as the Defence Secretary of the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime or what he is doing now as president, RSF said that many Sri Lankan journalists now face a terrible dilemma of "do they do their job or do they avoid putting their lives in danger?."

"They have to live with the ghosts of so many colleagues who were murdered while, at the same time, the impunity for crimes of violence against journalists committed on Gota’s orders continues to be total," the rights watchdog said.

"Against this background, investigative reporting on such sensitive issues as the plight of the Tamil minority or Sri Lanka’s Muslim community seems extremely dangerous. Those who dare are exposed to two dangers. One is judicial, the probability that the police will come with warrants for their arrest. The other is physical, the probability that they will receive death threats, which the police will refuse to register if they try to file a complaint. Either way, terror is back."

According to the World Press Freedom Index compiled by RSF, Sri Lanka was ranked 127 out of a total 180 countries making it one of the world’s most difficult countries for journalists.

Hours after an incident where a Senior Officer of the Army was involved in a heated altercation with a team of Wildlife Department officials in Habarana area was reported on Friday (25), action was immediately taken by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army to appoint a Board of Inquiry, headed by two Senior Major Generals in order to find and verify facts, related to the whole incident since Police complaints have been lodged.

Justice Mahinda Samayawardena became the fourth judge to recuse himself from hearing the fundamental rights petitions filed by Wanni District Member of Parliament Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaj Bathiudeen who were both arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).

The petitions were filed separately seeking the immediate release of the Bathiudeen brothers, and yesterday (05), the case was scheduled to be heard before Justices Murdu Fernando, Achala Vengappuli and Mahinda Samayawardena.

However, Justice Mahinda Samayawardena withdrew from hearing the petitions citing personal reasons.

As a result, the case was rescheduled to be heard before another panel of judges on August 08.

On previous hearings, Supreme Court Justices Janak de Silva, Yasantha Kodagoda and AHMD Nawaz had recused themselves on individual occasions citing personal reasons leading to postponement of hearing the case.

The fundamental rights application made by the Bathiudeen brothers seeks to secure a ruling that their arrest and detention under the PTA was unlawful and that they have no connection to any terrorist activity. Rishad Bathiudeen had also claimed in his petition that the arrests were politically motivated and sought to humiliate the leader of a political party and a minority community.

Commenting on the arrest of Rishad Bathiudeen, SJB Parliamentarian Eran Wickremaratne said that the abuse of the PTA to arrest and detain members of the opposition under the guise of national security was a serious threat to the democratic structure of the country.

He further said that, although his party was not opposed to measures adopted in the interests of national security, the Government had abused the law to arrest Rishad Bathiudeen.

The Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella also acknowledged that Rishad Bathiudeen was the only MP to have been arrested and detained under the PTA in the history of Sri Lankan politics.

Sri Lanka on Tuesday (29) reported that 45 deaths had occured due to COVID-19 on Monday, June 28, 2021.

According to the report, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) owns 23.9 percent of the plants shares and the sale to the American company, New Fortress Energy (NFE), had been rejected by the EPF trustees and therefore, the Government has decided to sell 51% of shares owned by the Treasury.

A group of senior members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) have invited former President and incumbent patron of the SLFP Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to take the lead in rebuilding the party.

A government lawmaker has claimed that Basil Rajapaksa is a politician who quite literally has seven brains.

Addressing a press conference, SLPP Polonnaruwa District MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala said that 115 MPs had signed and handed over a letter to the President soon after the government came to power seeking Basil Rajapaksa's entry to parliament.

He also said that Basil had refused to enter Parliament at that moment. However, considering the current plight of the country, especially considering the state of the economy which has been decimated due to the Covid pandemic, he said that Basil Rajapaksa's entry  to parliament at this juncture is crucial.

Further enhancing India’s defence cooperation initiatives with Sri Lanka, the Indian government has gifted 50 machinery parts worth LKR 120 million to augment maintenance capability of Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship Suraksha that was presented by India in October 2017.

A top commander in the Sri Lanka Army who allegedly assaulted and obstructed wildlife officers from performing their duties has been granted bail the same day he was arrested.

The Sri Lankan government’s pardon of 16 prisoners convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), however welcome, does not address the urgent need to repeal the draconian law, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Public Health Inspectors’ (PHI) Union charges that Sri Lanka’s COVID-19 elimination programme is being carried out without a proper understanding of the Delta variant, known as B.1.617.2, which has spread to at least 85 countries since it was first identified in India last fall.

A prominent prisoner’s rights organisation claims that giving special treatment to a pro-government prisoner while disregarding the policy of treating all prisoners equally, violates prisoners’ basic rights and causes a massive damage to the rule of law.