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Claims of journalists being surveilled after Rupavahini firing

17 Mar 2022

The Free Media Movement (FMM) said yesterday (17) that the removal of journalist Parami Nileptha Ranasinghe from her programmes at the State-run Rupavahini Corporation’s television channel, following her criticisms of the Government on social media, signals an indication that journalists are being surveilled. In a statement made on her Facebook page yesterday, Ranasinghe claimed that she has been banned from Rupavahini as she had been sensitive about the lives of the majority of the Sri Lankan public via her Facebook account. “Ranasinghe told us that she had been informed by the producers of her programme that her services are not needed anymore, based on instructions that they had received from higher-ups. She further informed us that the Presidential Secretariat had informed to not have her be a part of Rupavahini anymore, as her social media posts are critical of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Government,” the FMM said in a statement issued in this regard yesterday. The FMM condemned the incident, noting that it severely violated a person’s constitutionally guaranteed right to the freedom of speech and expression including publication. “Ranasinghe made these criticisms on her social media account. If a party is monitoring these, and alerting the Government about them, that is a very serious incident as it signals the continuous surveillance of journalists,” the FMM noted. “As a citizen, this is a moment where my freedom of speech and expression has been challenged,” said Ranasinghe.


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