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Mullaitivu Press Club condemns alleged assault

28 Nov 2021

By Pamodi Waravita The Mullaitivu Press Club engaged in a wide range of protests yesterday (28), condemning the assault of an individual by the name of V. Vishwachandran Mullaitivum last Saturday (27), who they claim is a freelance independent journalist who was assaulted by three officers attached to the 59 Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army. Video footage shows Vishwachandran claiming that he was merely taking a photo of the “Mullivaikal” road sign when he was assaulted using “barbed wire”. Pictures of Vishwachandran’s hands show injuries and he had later been admitted to hospital for treatment. Three army officers attached to the 59 Brigade of the Sri Lanka Army, who were allegedly involved in the said assault, were reportedly arrested by the Police yesterday and later released on bail. However, The Morning’’s attempts to contact Police Media Spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nihal Thalduwa regarding this proved futile. “He was beaten with palmyrah fronds wrapped with barbed wire. He suffered serious injuries and was admitted to the Mullaitivu District Hospital for treatment. Journalists in Sri Lanka, especially those in the war-affected North and East, are subjected to serious challenges amidst severe threats to their lives and profession. Despite 44 Tamil journalists being abducted or subjected to forced disappearances or killed, none of the perpetrators have been brought to justice,” the Mullaitivu Press Club said in a statement yesterday. The assault had occurred on the day of “Maaveerar Naal”, a commemorative day observed across the North and East as a mark of respect and remembrance of those who died during the civil war. Although reports show that several courts denied requests by the Sri Lanka Police to ban the planned commemorative events, many media outlets detailed the heavy military presence during the events last Saturday.


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