Scribe jailed for 'pro-LTTE' article gets pardon

A prominent Sri Lankan Tamil journalist, whose arrest and subsequent 20-year sentence for 'supporting terrorism' had drawn international condemnation, has been pardoned by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa has ordered the release of Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam, who was recently released on bail after being sentenced to a jail term of 20 years, a top minister said.

"President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to pardon journalist J S Tissainayagam, who was convicted on 31 August, 2009, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act," said External Affairs Minister G L Peiris.

Tissainayagam, 45, was contributing to the local Sunday Times since 2007 and also ran a website that focused on the country's Tamil population. He was found guilty of spreading 'racial hatred' and 'supporting terrorism' by the Colombo high court last year.

Tissainayagam, who was arrested in March 2008 and later charged under the anti-terrorism legislation, was released on bail in January due to poor health. He had been sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment.

The move to order his release was made to mark World Press Freedom Day, Peiris said.

Tissainayagam's conviction was based on two articles he wrote criticising the government's military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.

The scribe was detained for over 400 days, prior to being charged for writing the article in the pro-Tamil Tigers magazine North Eastern Herald, which has since been closed.

His detention and sentence had drawn criticism from international human rights groups.

United States President Barack Obama had said in May last year that he was concerned over threats to the media, and referred to the Lankan scribe's case as an example.

"Emblematic examples of this distressing reality are figures like J S Tissainayagam in Sri Lanka, or Shi Tao and Hu Jia in China," Obama had said in a statement marking World Press Freedom Day on May 3.

Tissainayagam was convicted on three counts including editing, printing and distributing the publication North Eastern Monthly magazine during the period between June 1, 2006 and June 1, 2007.

The journalist was also convicted for collecting money to run the magazine and thereby furtherance of terrorism, an offence punishable under emergency regulations.