The Free Media Movement (FMM) has expressed alarm that another well-known journalist has received a death threat from an unknown caller. Former deputy editor of the Sunday Leader, editor of the monthly magazine Montage and leading investigative journalist and South Asia cocoordinator of the International News Safety Institute (INSI) Frederica Jansz received the death threat at on June 14.
The caller spoke in Sinhalese and first asked if it was Frederica Jansz speaking. Proceeding thereafter to tell her that she was involved in a lot of unnecessary work, the caller told her to stop immediately or that she would see in a very short period of time what would happen to her. When asked by Jansz to be more specific on what kind of unnecessary work she was involved in, he replied that she knew what it was and then repeated the threat.
Jansz had received a number of indirect threats during the month of May. On one occasion, on May 28 at around 4:30 a.m., a heavy vehicle was parked outside her residence for an hour with its lights on and engine revving. In early May, a decapitated chicken was left in front of her office.
FMM appealed to all local and international democratic actors to ensure that the safety of journalists and media freedom are protected in Sri Lanka at a time when just speaking one's mind is reason enough to be abducted, beaten up or worse.
