The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on Monday (13) condemned ‘the heavy-handed’ action of Sri Lankan police in charging a freelance journalist in Jaffna.

In a press release IFJ said, ‘this attack on press freedom appeared to be aimed at intimidating the media.’

“This is clearly an attempt by police to intimidate journalists in Jaffna and shows the dismal status of press freedom in Sri Lanka even after the promise by the new government to improve safety situation” the press release stated.

N. Logathayalan, a freelance journalist for Jaffna based Tamil news paper, was detained by the police on April 8.

Logathayalan was charged with "providing false information for the publication of a news item", local media reported.

He was released on bail on April 9 and ordered to present before the court on May 29.