Tharindu Uduwaragedara was arrested by the police while covering a protest held in Colombo. He is an activist of the Union of Young Journalists and a civil society activist as well as an award-winning journalist.
The press statement release issued by the Federation of Media Employees Trade Unions protesting this is published below in its entirety.
Press release
July 28, 2023
Tharindu Uduwaragedara who was engaged in media reporting arrested by Police
Tharindu Uduvaragedara, a prominent activist of the Young Journalists Association, Sri Lanka, who was covering a demonstration on workers’ rights in Colombo city, has been seriously assaulted and arrested by the Sri Lanka Police. A journalist and civil activist, Tharindu Uduvaragedara, was assaulted and arrested while reporting using the freedom of speech and expression according to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. The videos of him being pulled by his hair, beaten, and subjected to torture while being taken into the police jeep without stopping from his illegal arrest are already circulating in social media.
The democratic world must condemn the attack and arrest of journalist Tharindu Uduwaragedara by the police. There have been a number of Supreme Court judgments and also recommendations of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, on how to protect the basic rights of the people and how the police should act in protest situations, but the police do not care.
The government authorities, led by the Inspector General of Police, should conduct a formal investigation into this inhumane and illegal action of the Sri Lanka Police, which cannot be tolerated by civilized society, and bring justice to Tharindu Uduwaragedara.
We are joining hands with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) to carry out the full involvement of the Federation of Media Employees’Trade Unions. The International Federation of Journalists is the strongest media organization in the world with over six hundred thousand members of 167 media organizations in 146 countries.
Sincerely.
Dharmasisr Lankapeli
General Secretary
077 364 1111