Armed men stormed the home of a high-profile Sri Lankan television journalist critical of the government Monday, police said, sparking condemnation by local media rights groups.
Chamuditha Samarawickrama, who had criticised the powerful ruling Rajapaksa family and their allies in recent broadcasts, including on YouTube, was shaken but unhurt after the pre-dawn raid, police said.
"They carried weapons to intimidate the guard and gained access to the housing compound," a police official said adding that forensic experts had been called in to launch an investigation.
"There were at least three armed men and they travelled in a white van," Samarawickrama told AFP. "I heard shots fired. They smashed my windows and threw faeces at the house. It was captured on CCTV."
"I don't know who is behind this attack, but I want to tell them that they can't silence me."
Local media rights organisations denounced the attack on Samarawickrama who is both liked and loathed for his confrontationist interviews with public and business figures on his programme "Truth With Chamuditha."
"This attack underscores the dangerous environment in which journalists have been working in Sri Lanka in recent decades," said local media rights group the Free Media Movement.
"It is ironic that this (incident) comes less than a week after we commemorated journalists who were killed or otherwise victimised."
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), at least 14 journalists were murdered during the 2005-15 presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the current prime minister and elder brother of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Two weeks ago, police began investigating Samarawickrama and his Hiru TV network for polemic against law enforcement and allegedly making a false complaint of a threat to his life.
He had broadcast last week an interview with a former police officer who had secured political asylum in Britain after claiming that he was being persecuted during a previous Rajapaksa administration.
The latest assault comes weeks before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is due to take up Sri Lanka's rights record over long-standing allegations of abuses.
UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet had called for "renewed attention" to the intimidation of journalists, lawyers and activists in Sri Lanka after the Rajapaksa family returned to power in 2019.
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During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)