Namal Rajapaksa says the summoning of Aruna newspaper Editor-in-Chief Mahinda Ileperuma to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) amounts to media suppression and serves as a warning to all journalists.
Issuing a statement, Rajapaksa said he “strongly condemns” the move, adding that it reflects an attempt by a political movement—one that claims to have opposed repressive laws—to now use the CID to intimidate or silence the media.
According to him, Ileperuma was called before the CID over a report published in Aruna which claimed that, in addition to the Grama Niladhari certificate, a certificate from the Chairman of the Public Security Committee was also required to obtain police reports.
Rajapaksa said that if the report was inaccurate or contentious, the complaint should first have been directed to the Sri Lanka Press Council or referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee, as provided for under established procedures.
Bypassing these mechanisms and directly summoning the editor to the CID, he argued, is clear evidence of the government’s repressive approach.
Reiterating his condemnation, Rajapaksa added that it is “deeply regrettable” that the CID is being deployed to suppress the media and advance the government’s narrow political agenda.
