The High Court sentences journalist Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for publishing articles that caused "racial hatred" and promoted terrorism, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Timeline of events under "Media freedom" issue
The editor of the Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge, is fatally shot in Colombo on his way to work by unidentified gunmen on motorcycles. Wickrematunge was rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery, but later succumbed to his injuries.
Gunmen armed with grenades attack the offices of MTV, part of the Maharajah Broadcasting Corporation, the largest private television broadcaster in Sri Lanka.
Keith Noyahr, Associate Editor and Defence Correspondent of The Nation weekly newspaper is abducted from his home and returned seriously injured.
The Sri Lankan government blocks access from within Sri Lanka to TamilNet, a website hosted in Norway which provides news reports on local events. The move came just days after the 10th anniversary of TamilNet's creation.
The Government warns foreign diplomats not to interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs or risk expulsion. Britain's High Commissioner was questioned by officials following his visit to the editor of the Daily Mirror, who had alleged that Gotabhaya Rajapakse had threatened her.
The Sri Lankan government freezes the assets of publisher Standard Newspaper Private Limited, effectively halting the publication of the newspaper 'Mawbima'.
Freelance journalist, Sampath Lakmal de Silva, is abducted and later murdered south of Colombo. He is the first Sinhalese journalist to be murdered in eight years (the recent journalists murdered have all been Tamil).
Tamil journalist working for the ‘Sudar Oli’ newspaper S. Sugirdharajan, is gunned down in Trincomalee. Sugirdharajan is the third Tamil journalist to have been killed in the past 12 months.
Tamil language TV news presenter and journalist, Relangi Selvarajah, and her husband are shot dead by unknown gunmen in Colombo.
'Taraki' Sivaram, a Tamil journalist and political analyst with Tamilnet, is murdered in Colombo.
Richard de Zoysa, journalist, author and human rights activist, is abducted and murdered.
