Court orders compensation to Tamil woman journalist

[TamilNet, Thursday, 19 July 2007, 00:44 GMT]
Sri Lanka Supreme Court Monday instructed the Police officers and other officials cited as respondents in a fundamental rights violation case Monday to pay Rs.50,000 to Tamil woman journalist Ms Sivanathan Sivaramya, legal sources in Colombo said.

The FR petition was taken up for inquiry before a three-member bench of the Supreme Court chaired by the Chief Justice, Sarath N.Silva. State Counsel, Harshika de Silva representing the Attorney General submitted that both parties had come to an understanding outside the court to settle the matter. Other members of the SC bench were Justices Raja Fernando and Salem Marsook.

Mr.Nimal, police officer who arrested the petitioner at the BMICH, Inspector Perera of Cinnamons Gardens Police, Inspector General of Police, Chairman of the SLBC, Principal of the D.S.Senanayake College were cited as respondents.

Respondents had reached an out of court agreement to pay the agreed sum, the court was told.

State Counsel wanted two months to pay the compensation to the petitioner. The court gave time till 10 September to pay the compensation.

Ms Sivaramya in her petition begged the court to declare that her fundamental rights had been violated as her arrest and detention in May when she went to cover the proceedings of International Media Day held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) was illegal, and sought compensation from the respondents.

She was arrested on an allegation that she was a cadre of the LTTE suicide squad and had gone to BMICH to assassinate Mr.Mangala Samaraweera, then foreign minister and the chief guest at the event. At that time of arrest she had been working as a part time announcer of the State controlled Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) and a volunteer teacher at Colombo D.S.Senanayake College.