The Island
President Mahinda Rajapaksa early yesterday instructed the Inspector General of Police to conduct a thorough probe into death threats received by two senior journalists attached to the Sunday Leader newspaper, Presidential Secretariat sources said.
Earlier this year, founder Editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunga was gunned down near his office by unidentified gunmen.
The two journalists of the newspaper, now under threat said they had received letters last week threatening them with death if they do not stop writing.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it was greatly concerned by last week’s death threats against the Sunday Leader journalists.
“The air of impunity surrounding violence against the media is having a chilling effect on journalists,” CPJ’s Asia program coordinator Bob Dietz said.