India’s Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has banned a film about murdered Tamil journalist Isaipriya, on grounds that it may damage relations with Sri Lanka, reports the Hindu.
Though a formal notice is yet to be issued, actor S V Shekar, the Regional Chairman of CBFC, said “certification of a movie cannot be given if it could strain friendly relations with a neighbouring country”.
The decision was protested against by the film’s director Ganeshan, who said, “What if Sri Lanka is a friendly State? Are we not allowed to criticise even when its armed forces have committed blatant human rights abuses? Even the Tamil Nadu government has passed a unanimous resolution in the Assembly not to consider Sri Lanka as a friendly nation.”
The Sri Lankan government had claimed the popular Tamil reporter and actress, who they had labelled a "terrorist", was killed in battle. However, video footage and pictures obtained in 2013, shot from a Sri Lankan soldier's mobile phone, show Isaipriya being dragged up from a ditch, half naked and being led away.
Photos of her dead body, bearing visible signs of torture and sexual abuse, were unearthed in 2010, with several Sri Lankan soldiers can be clearly identified, looking directly into the camera.
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