JDS

Monday, July 19, 2010

CID on repeat visits to newspaper office

Posted by JDS

By Leon Berenger | The Sunday Times
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Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday visited the “Lanka” newspaper office, at Delkanda, Nugegoda, for the second consecutive day, following a visit on Friday evening. A newspaper spokesperson said the police questioned the editor, Chandana Sirimalwatte, for nearly two hours before leaving at around 9.00 pm.

The police asked to see the newspaper’s business registration and, among other things, demanded personal details of staff, including permanent addresses, contact telephone numbers, previous employment data, and parents’ addresses.

The police said they would call again on Monday, to question the staff individually. They also wanted to confirm the identities of contributors writing under pen names.

Earlier this year, editor Chandana Sirimalwatte was repeatedly questioned by the police over articles published in the “Lanka”. He was also briefly detained at the CID Headquarters, Colombo.

© The Sunday Times