Sri Lankan’s immigration authorities deported two international journalists, for breaching the country’s visa regulations today.
The two journalists, Asia Pacific Director of the International Federation of journalists (IFJ) Jacqueline Parker and Deputy Director, Jane Worthington, were deported after being detained and interrogated.
Sri Lankan authorities wiped all the data from a journalist's laptop before sending her back to Australia, reports the AFP.
Jacqui Park, an Australian media rights activist and colleague Jean Worthington were expelled from Sri Lanka for "anti-government activities", after two days of questioning, where she was presented with an extensive dossier on her 17 vists to Sri Lanka over 15 years.
A local spokesperson for the Free Media Movement, Sunil Jayasekara said:
"They were told by the immigration officials today that it was all a big misunderstanding,""They went through everything in the computer. When they gave it back to her, everything had been erased,"
Both journalists were members of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). IFJ condemned the detention of the pair and said in a statement:
"The IFJ has grave concerns about the safety of media personnel inside Sri Lanka arising from this incident,"
Officials indicated that the two journalists had violated their visa agreements by participating in a media workshop while arriving in the country on tourist visas. The workshop was organised by the media watchdog, Free Media Movement.
Explaining the decision, Minister of Mass Media and Information, Kehliya Rambukwella, assured that authorities had conducted investigations that confirmed that the journalists were not accredited to be involved in media seminars under the visa they had been granted.
Responding to the decision, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the detention and interrogation of its journalists by Sri Lankan authorities.
The IFJ deplored the detainment of the two journalists at a press freedom meeting, stating,
“The IFJ believes this move by Sri Lankan officials is an attempt to intimidate and harass journalists inside and outside Sri Lanka to prevent reporting on the realities of life in Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM, which begins in Colombo on November 15”.
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