Media outfits condemn CTID summoning of North based journalist Kumanan

Photojournalist K. Kumanan and the summon issued by CTID to appear for investigation. 

Several local and international media rights groups condemned the move of summoning North based photojournalist  Kanapathipillai Kumanan by the Counter Terrorism and Investigation Division (CTID) and urged government to ensure that journalists are able to work freely.

The Internet Media Action (IMA), a Colombo based outfit emphasised to the government that this summons should be immediately withdrawn and that the harassment faced by Kumanan must be stopped. Furthermore, the government must ensure a free and safe environment for journalists to carry out their professional duties without intimidation, obstruction, or influence.

A police notice has revealed that the CTID has issued a summons to photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan to appear for an “investigation.” According to this notice, he has been informed to be present at the Counter Terrorism sub-office in Alampil, Mullaitivu, on August 17 to provide a statement. However, without providing any details or further information about this summons, this action appears arbitrary and coercive. The Internet Media Action (IMA) recognizes this as a form of harassment against a journalist.

The misuse of police powers by employing a notorious institution like the Counter Terrorism Unit is recognised by us as a serious threat to media freedom. Kumanan, an ethnic Tamil, is a leading photojournalist who has been providing updates and photographs to the media on the Chemmani mass grave in Jaffna, where more than 140 human skeletons were discovered, fulfilling an important responsibility of reporting this significant event.

He has also been reporting on peaceful public protests in the Northern Province calling for truth and justice for the disappeared, peaceful actions to reclaim land belonging to Tamil people, and activities to safeguard human rights in the post-war North. 

IMA urged the government of the National People’s Power (NPP) to immediately halt these actions and to take swift measures to create an environment where all journalists, including Tamil journalists, can carry out their professional work without intimidation, interference or threats.

"Freedom of the media is a cornerstone of democracy. Protecting and upholding it is a primary duty of the government. Therefore, we stress to the government that it is their foremost responsibility to rectify this situation immediately and to create an environment where journalists can work without any hindrance,"

Meanwhile, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemned the move while stressing that  the use of the CTID and other counter-terror mechanisms to target a Tamil journalist is not new—but it remains deeply concerning. 

"Under successive governments, Sri Lankan authorities have abused the regressive Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the counter-terror police to punish journalists and human rights defenders who document and report on rights violations and abuses and deter them from carrying out their work. Tamil and Muslim human rights defenders—particularly in the country’s north and east—have been especially affected by such reprisals," the statement said. 

In a collective letter to government authorities, ICJ and seven other outfits including International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on Sri Lankan authorities, including the Minister of Public Security, the Police Chief, and the Ministry of Defence to ensure that all journalists and human rights defenders in Sri Lanka can work in a safe, enabling environment, free from intimidation and retaliation. (Northeastern Monitor/ August 16/2025)