Lasantha Wickrematunge | |
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| Born | Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge 5 April 1958 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 8 January 2009 (aged 50) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Cause of death | Assassination by gunshot |
| Resting place | Kanatte Cemetery |
| Other names | Suranimala |
| Education | St. Benedict's College, Colombo |
| Alma mater | Law, University of Colombo |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist and politician |
| Political party | United National Party |
| Other political affiliations | Sri Lanka Freedom Party (until 1992) |
| Spouse(s) | Raine Wickrematunge (1985–2007) Sonali Samarasinghe (2008–death) |
| Children | Avinash Wickrematunge Ahimsa Wickrematunge Aadesh Wickrematunge |
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| Website | www |
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Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge (Sinhala: ලසන්ත වික්රමතුංග, Tamil: லசந்த விக்கிரமதுங்க; 5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a high-profile Sri Lankan journalist, politician, broadcaster and human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009.[1]
Wickrematunge was the founder of The Sunday Leader newspaper and Leader Publications and was a virulent critic of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government,[2] and had been locked in a legal battle with Gotabaya Rajapaksa,[3] who was defence secretary at the time and was spearheading the battle against the LTTE rebels. His assassination sent shockwaves across the country,[4] as he was one of the nation's most influential journalists and most well known political figures and raised questions about freedom of expression in the country. Wickrematunge's murder was widely condemned across the world.[5] The Daily Mirror called it the "biggest blow" to media freedom in Sri Lanka, and the Editors Guild held the government responsible for the killing as it has failed to stop attacks against media personnel. The government also expressed shock at the killing, pledging to do everything in its power to catch his killers. Wickrematunge had been on Amnesty International's endangered list since 1998, when anti-tank shells were fired on his house.[6][7]
- ^ "Lasantha Wickrematunge case timeline". Roar Media. 29 September 2016.
- ^ "police Sri Lanka arrest intelligence officers journalist lasantha wickrematunge". the Guardian. 20 February 2017.
- ^ "The anatomy of the MiG deal". Sunday Observer. 5 January 2019.
- ^ "For Sri Lankan reporters, the ghosts of violence and intimidation loom again". The Guardian. 4 March 2021.
- ^ "Remembering Lasantha". Colombo Telegraph. 8 January 2019.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Twas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Fear for safety". Amnesty International. 19 June 1998.