Publicly illustrating the present mindset of many civil servants in Sri Lanka, Media Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath yesterday uploaded a controversial tweet that condoned the sentencing of three Al-Jazeera journalists in Egypt – a verdict that has been heavily criticized worldwide, even by the UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay.
Last afternoon Herath uploaded a tweet from his handle @charith9 that read:
#AlJazeera #journalists in Cairo sentenced to 7 years in jail. Reason was to help M/brotherhood. How many of that kind helped LTTE in #lka
However, few minutes later he deleted but it had already been recorded by Colombo Telegraph.
This tweet also seems rather ominous, seeing as the Rajapksa state-owned daily English newspaper’s Editor Rajpal Abeynayake in his editorials on Saturday and yesterday called for the arrests of journalists who updated the ground situation in Aluthgama and Beruwala in the wake of anti-Muslim clashes last week.
The three journalists Peter Greste, Mohammed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed were sentenced to seven years imprisonment today under charges of propagating false news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. They were detained on 29 December 2013.
Park / June 24, 2014
Media Freedom “Lankan Style”!
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Greg Pieter / June 24, 2014
Modaya Minister.
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Upali Wijewardene / June 24, 2014
What better can you expect from Raja P suckers
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Safa / June 24, 2014
The truth hurts so kill the messenger. Egyptian model of justice where hundreds are sentenced to death without fair trial seems to find favour with dictators and megalomaniacs. The local press secretary being a paid bumpkin of the state sees fit to praise the tyrannical system being followed in Egypt. His masters voice.
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Treehorse / June 24, 2014
I commend colombo telegraph unbiased ground situation at home. I was closely following daily mirror and now headlines I could see is “Tense situ in …”.
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Wickrama / June 24, 2014
Can anyone tell me please about this pathetic Daily Mirror/Lankadeepa crap. Its owned by Vijaya publications right? Vijaya publications is RW’s uncle’s and Ruwans Father’s?
Why this Daily Mirror supporting the regime.
There headlines all the time misleading the readers.
I have stopped reading it a year ago because of its lame biased news.
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Harry Hatton / June 24, 2014
Mr Hearth is said to be university lecturer now hob-nobbing with politicians. He did not come from the administrative service but landed there claiming to be a media specialist.Is he a politician or an administrator ? We know so little about his past-some say there are BBS connections before.
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mike / June 24, 2014
CT: Congratulations on your recording of this bugger’s tweet. Charitha Herath must be shitting in his pants. LOL!
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Hameed / June 25, 2014
The scoundrel Abdel Fatah al-Sisi says Egyptian Judiciary is independent and ‘exalted’and that he has advised his Justice Minister (yeah he needs advise..right) not to interfere with the judiciary. What a bloody joke. Every one in the world knows it’s back to tyranny in Egypt except some dumb Egyptians.
The imprisonment of AlJazeera journalists is crime against humanity and what do we hear from John Kerry? Some stupid rhetoric as usual.
If it weren’t for Aljazeera Sisi wouldn’t be ‘president’ today.
Free Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt! NOW!And to hell with our puny little tyrants like Charitha Herat.
Hameed
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