Honored for their work, threatened at home CPJ introduces 2009 International Press Freedom Awardees Washington, November 19, 2009—Naziha Réjiba, editor of the Tunisian online news journal Kalima, said she knows what to expect when she returns home—surveillance, harassment, and threats conducted by one the world’s most repressive governments. “While I’m speaking, many homes of Tunisian journalists are completely surrounded,” Réjiba, one of four recipients of the 2009 International Press Freedom Awards, told reporters at the National Press Club today, describing state surveillance. The Committee to Protect Journalists gives the awards each year to courageous journalists working in dangerous and repressive circumstances. At today’s press conference, CPJ also introduced awardee Mustafa Haji Abdinur, an Agence France-Presse correspondent and editor-in-chief of Radio Simba in Somalia. Two other CPJ awardees, J.S. Tissainayagam of Sri Lanka and Eynulla Fatullayev of Azerbaijan, were recognized but not present: They are imprisoned in their home countries in retaliation for their work.(more)

The Tissanayagam Felicitation Ceremony

Please see photo gallery Jayathilake Bandara sings about Thissainayagam at Felicitation Ceramony held in Colombo on 7 th October. This song made by Manjula Wediwardane on 31 August the date thissa was Sentanced
Sri Lankan journalist J.S Tissainayagam rewarded by the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism
Global Media Forum and the US branch of Reporters Without Borders have formally awarded the respected Sri Lankan journalist and editor J. S. Tissainayagam as first winner of the Peter Mackler Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on October 2, 2009. His wife, Ronnate Tissainayagam, was present at the ceremony to receive the Award. “For the last 20 years my husband has endeavoured to pursue the goals that Mr.Mackler believed in as a journalist. Like Peter, my husband was never too busy to encourage those who wanted to learn to write and has helped many in journalism. Today my husband is continuing to teach me courage and grace in difficult times. For him no matter what the circumstances are; there is no excuse for unkindness. No matter what circumstance fellow human beings must be treated with dignity », said Ronnate Tissainayagam. J. S Tissainayagam is a respected Tamil journalist and editor who wrote for the North Eastern Monthly Magazine and the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka. And is the founder of the website Outreachsl.com. He was arrested March 7, 2008 by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Sri Lanka police and got a 20 year sentence on terrorism charges today on August 31st.(more)
ICJ Condemns Misuse of Anti-Terrorism Laws to Prosecute Sri Lankan Journalist, J. S. Tissainayagam 11 September 2009 Today the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) released its Trial Observation Report (http://www.icj.org/IMG/ICJ_Tissa_Trial_Observation_Report_11_Sept_09.pdf) regarding proceedings before the Colombo High Court in the prosecution of J.S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil journalist. On 31 August 2009, Mr Tissainayagam was convicted under anti-terrorism laws and sentenced by Judge Deepali Wijesundara to 20 years “rigorous imprisonment.” (more) ---------------------------------------------- Blow to media freedomThe August 31 verdict of a Colombo High Court sentencing the veteran journalist and columnist J.S. Tissainayagam to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under the country’s draconian anti-terror law has raised concerns across the world on the ...
CPJ award goes to jailed Sri Lankan journalist New York, August 31,2009. The Committee to Protect Journalists announced today that it will honor imprisoned Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam with a 2009 International Press Freedom Award. Tissainayagam, left, sentenced today to 20 years in prison on specious charges of violating anti-terror laws, is one of five journalists who will be honored by CPJ at a ceremony in November. The full slate of awardees, selected by CPJ's Board of Directors this summer, will be formally announced in September. A Colombo High Court sentenced Tissainayagam to 20 years of hard labor in the first conviction of a journalist under the country's harsh anti-terror laws. Tissainayagam, known as Tissa, suffers from poor health and said his confession to the charge was extracted under threat of torture, according to his lawyers. (more)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Media Release: Sri Lanka September 8, 2008
Release Tissa: IFJ Launches Video Campaign to Free Sri Lankan Journalist
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its local affiliates in Sri Lanka today launched an online campaign video condemning the arrest and indictment of senior Tamil journalist J.S. Tissainyagam, whose passed his sixth month in jail on September 7.

All individuals and organisations are invited to join the campaign to Stop the War on Journalists in Sri Lanka and watch the “Release Tissa” video at http://asiapacific.ifj.org/articles/free-tissainayagam to help generate international support to end the attacks on free media in Sri Lanka.Tissainayagam was arrested on March 7, 2008, while working as the editor of the online magazine http://www.outreachsl.com/.
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2 September 2008
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The Indictment
1. This complaint states that in Colombo, which is within the jurisdiction of this court during the period between 1st June 2006 and 1st June 2007, the accused together with unknown persons committed an offence or abetted the commission of an offence or entered into a common intention with a prior understanding to abet the commission of an offence whether planned or unplanned, by words either spoken or intended to be read or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, ....(more)
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The best of times and the worst of times
By Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

Certainly it is now, (to borrow a dearly immortalized phrase), the best of times and the worst of times. It is the worst of times for never before have the assaults on basic freedoms of life, liberty and democratic space been so prolonged and so pervasive or accompanied by such comprehensive subversion of constitutional institutions.



25 August 2008
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The first instance of a journalist being accused . . .
J.S. Tissanayagam was indicted, in the first instance of a journalist being accused under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, in the Colombo High Court yesterday (Aug. 25th) on charges of having plotted to bring the government into
disrepute and having attempted to incite communal feelings.
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තිස්සගේ නඩුව සහ මහින්දගේ වාර්තාව

සුනන්ද දේශප්‍රීය

මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ආණ්ඩුව මාධ්‍ය මර්ධනයෙහි ලා තවත් වාර්තාවක් තැබුවේ ය. ඒ තිස් වසරක් තරම් කාලයක් පුරා ජනමාධ්‍යට සහ ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන්ට එරෙහිව යොදා නොගැනුනු ත්‍රස්තවාදය වැළැක්විමේ පනත යටතේ ජනමාධ්‍යවේ දි තිස්සෙයිනායගම්ට එරෙහිව නඩු පැවරීම මගිනි. ( more)
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පුවත්පත් නිවේදනය

2008 අගෝස්තු 20, කොළඹ දී

මාධ්‍යවේදී ජේ.එස්. තිස්සනායගම්ට එරෙහිව නඩු පැවරේ

ඉතා විශ්වාස කටයුතු මාධ්‍ය මූලාශ්‍රයක් මඟින් අප මාධ්‍ය සංවිධාන වෙත දැනගන්නට ලැබී ඇති අන්දමට 2008 මාර්තු 07 වැනි දා සිට මේ දක්වා ත්‍රස්ත විමර්ශණ අංශයේ අත්අඩංගුවේ රඳවා තබාගෙන සිටි මාධ්‍යවේදී ජේ.එස්. තිස්සනායගම් මහතාට එරෙහිව මහාධිකරණයෙහි නඩු පවරා තිබේ. ඔහුට එරෙහිව ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇති චෝදනා පත්‍රය තවමත් අප වෙත ලැබී නැති නමුත් අපගේ තොරතුරු මූලාශ්‍රවලට අනුව තිස්සනායගම් මහතාට එරෙහිව නඩු පවරනු ලැබ ඇත්තේ පහත දැක්වෙන චෝදනා යටතේය.( more)
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15 August 2008
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Call for release of website editor accused of terrorism
Reporters Without Borders calls on the Sri Lankan government to release J. S. Tissainayagam, a Tamil journalist who has been held since March. A government minister has just said he is charged with terrorism on the basis of articles written in 2006 and his activities as the editor of a website."This respected journalist's illegal and unjust detention is being accompanied by grotesque charges that are a serious violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed in the Sri Lankan constitution
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A Story About a Tamil Called Tissa Tissainayagam
By Eric HüblerThu.
A dissident columnist is hauled away on a meaningless “detention order.” His frantic wife says he has been beaten — and is, in all likelihood, being beaten at this moment. She begs a family friend with international ties to get word out; the friend fires off an email to an influential American acquaintance, begging him to use his pull with Washington and the media to put unrelenting pressure on the embassy.
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More than 150 days of detention without charges:
Release of Mr. J.S Tissainayagam, Mr. N. Jasiharan and Mrs. Valarmathy immediately
Senior journalist, Sunday Times columnist and editor of the website www.outreachsl.com, Mr. J. S. Tissainayagam remains in custody without specific charges being brought against him for more than 150 days, even though the Attorney General’s department has informed the Supreme Court on July 11th 2008 that investigations are over.
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For Immediate ReleaseSri Lanka:
Free Journalist and Other CriticsGovernment Misusing Emergency Regulations(New York, August 8, 2008)
– The Sri Lankan government should release a prominent journalist and two others connected to a website critical of the government, Human Rights Watch said today. The three have been held without charge since March under emergency regulations
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Stop war on Journalists
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Arbitrary detention/ medical concern SRI LANKA Tissainaygam (m), journalist Journalist (more)
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Arbitrary detention SRI LANKA Tissainayagam (m), journalist (more)
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Press release Officials pressured local press to tone down criticism during EU delegation visit (more)
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Sunday February 24, 2008 Columns – Telescope Child soldiers: What the Govt. report did not report By J.S. Tissainayagam (more)
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Colombo High Court convicts journalist JS Tissanayagam under prevntion of Terrorism Act, sentences to 20 years rigorous imprisonment