Mallavi police summoned Tamil journalist Shanmugam Thavaseelan who was assaulted earlier this week for an inquiry but failed to arrest the assailant.
On Friday, Thavaseelan went to Mallavi petrol station in Mullaitivu to report on the long fuel queues that had built up outside the petrol station where he was attacked by an unidentified man while Sri Lankan police officers reportedly looked on.
The suspect was reportedly briefly detained before being released.
Sri Lanka, currently ranked 146th in Reporters Without Borders 2022 World Press Freedom Index, continues to suppress the work of journalists, particularly those who live in the North-East. Efforts to silence journalists have intensified since Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office as Sri Lanka's president in 2019.
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