The Heads of Mission of the European Union has expressed its concern over Friday’s raid on opposition websites.
“Freedom of the media is a vital element in democratic societies and journalists must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of harassment or intimidation.
"Any action intended to intimidate independent journalism and or limit freedom of expression is in contradiction to UN human rights standards," the EU said in a statement.
The statement comes a day after the US called for an end to harassment of media in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile the government has warned media organisations to publish items responsibly.
The Government Information Department said certain websites are ‘violating human rights’, by publishing ‘defamatory and fabricated’ news items.
The Director General of the department, Professor Ariyarathne Ethugala, said the government will not hesitate to take action against such media organisations.
He said there should be a system to prevent websites from ‘discrediting’ individuals.
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