The Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has reportedly made inquiries regarding the X (formerly Twitter) account of journalist Sulochana Ramaiyamohan, following her sharing of an article originally published in the Ceylon Today newspaper on her social media platform.
In this regard, the social media company X has sent an email notification to its user, journalist Sulochana Ramaiyamohan.
According to the notification, the CID has sought information concerning an article she wrote on the government’s energy crisis, titled “Govt seeks time to address power ministry issue.”
The X company further stated that the CID has claimed the article contains elements that allegedly violate Sri Lankan law.
However, the Free Media Movement (FMM), after examining the article, has stated that it found no evidence of any illegal content either in the original newspaper publication or in the subsequent post shared on the X account.
Accordingly, the FMM has noted that the actual reason behind the CID’s request to the company to remove or block the journalist’s account remains unclear.
The Free Media Movement further stated that this incident constitutes a serious infringement on freedom of expression. It also noted that it is taking steps to inform all relevant parties both locally and internationally, and that further investigations are ongoing.
In addition, the Free Media Movement has raised concerns over whether journalist Sulochana Ramaiyamohan may be at risk due to her posts related to the energy crisis, an issue that has been associated with allegations of serious corruption.
Lasantha de Silva
Convenor
Dileesha Abeysundara
Secretary
