• What right does the CID have to pursue journalists including editors who reported incidents of the country by viewing the accurate report as an offence in a civilized society?

The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka strongly denounce the decision taken by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to summon and record statements from several senior newspaper editors and journalists regarding the complaint lodged by Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena against the Former Director of the Consumer Affairs Authority Thushan Gunawardena related to the Sathosa garlic scam.

Issuing a statement Secretary TEGOSL Sisira Paranathanthri questioned, what right does the CID have to pursue journalists including editors who reported incidents of the country by viewing the accurate report as an offence in a civilized society?

“Instead of shamelessly hounding the media which disclosed the scam the CID should have questioned the parties directly accused by the minister and brought them before the law after conducting investigations properly.
We would like to question whether the CID, despite its professional responsibility decided to summon the President of The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka, the Chief Editor of the Lankadeepa Siri Ranasinghe and its members, the Editor of Divaina Anura Solomons and the Editor of The Island Prabath Sahabandu because they were connected to the scam. The letter dated 28.09.2021 sent by the CID to Lankadeepa Editor says that the Trade Minister has lodged a complaint claiming that Thushan Gunawardena has been defamed and insulted by the publishing of hateful and fraudulent facts on electronic and published media. It is shocking that Bandula Gunawardena as a Minister who represented the Parliament in 2002 was not aware that the members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament unanimously voted to repeal the criminal defamation laws in the same year. It is questionable as under which legal provision the CID attempted to obtain statements from Lankadeepa Chief Editor Siri Ranasinghe and other journalists in Lankadeepa office on 28 September.

We once again denounce the shameless and ridiculous act of the CID hounding editors and journalists instead of dealing with the parties directly involved in the scam according to the law in a background where the criminal defamation laws have been repealed in Sri Lanka as a huge threat and a danger on the freedom of media,” the statement further said.