Q. Now that Tissainayagam has been released on bail, isn't the case closed?
A. Far from the case being closed, Tissainayagam still faces charges that could lead him at the government's whim to be tossed back into jail. These charges are from a punitive government bent on punishing him for doing his job as a journalist and are intended to silence reporters in the country through fear. The Free Tissa Campaign is calling for all these charges to be dropped and for Tissa to get a full presidential pardon.

Q. Why was J.S. Tissanayagam arrested?
A. He was arrested on the basis of two charges; creating communal disharmony based on two editorials that he wrote in 2006 and accepting Rs 150,000 (US$ 1,500) from an alleged member of the banned terrorist organization the Liberation Tigers of Thamil Eelam (LTTE). Reporters Without Borders later established the money came from a German aid project.

Q. What was in the writings that led to the communal disharmony charges?
A. In the July and November 2006 Tissanayagam wrote two editorials that questioned the Government’s war efforts.  He pointed out the impact the war had on the civilian population in the North and East of the island.  In other words, Tissanayagam was simply doing his job as a journalist. You can read two articles in question here: Article One, Article Two.

Q. What are the details surrounding his arrest?
On March 7, Tissainayagam was arrested but his family did not learn about this until the next day when the authorities came to search his house. According to Sri Lankan Supreme Court directives on arrests, the family has to be informed immediately. His lawyer was allowed to see him on March 21.

Q. Was the arrest and subsequent sentencing fair and impartial and in accordance with international norms?
A. The evidence provided for both charges was extremely flimsy and would have been thrown out of court in any jurisdiction that followed international norms in delivering justice. Furthermore, as documented by Amnesty, the arrest and sentencing process was rife with gross abuse of due process and judicial malpractice. The best summary of this farcical process was provided by Reporters Without Borders: “The imposition of this extremely severe sentence on Tissainayagam suggests that some Sri Lanka judges confuse justice with revenge."