Arrest of journalist raises doubts - SLTMA

[TamilNet, Sunday, 14 January 2001, 15:44 GMT]
The Sri Lankan Police refused to let relatives visit the Jaffna journalist, Nadarajah Thiruchelvam, who was arrested and detained on 2 January in Colombo. The journalist is being held by the Terrorism Investigation Unit (TID) of the Sri Lankan Police. The Sri Lanka Tamil Journalists’ Association in a statement issued Sunday questioned the real motive behind the indefinite detention of Mr.Thiruchelvam.

Mr.Thiruchelvam works for the Jaffna daily, Valampuri, and the Colombo Tamil daily, Thinakaran and was in Colombo for a wedding in his family when he was arrested by the TID.

The Sri Lanka Tamil Journalist’s Association (SLTMA) points out that Mr.Thiruchelvam had come to Colombo after obtaining due permission from the Sri Lanka army and had registered himself with the Police in Colombo for his stay in the capital but yet had been arrested by the TID purportedly on a petition. The TID has not given any reason for his detention so far.

The Police told the journalist’s wife who went to see him at the TID detention centre on Friday that she should return to Jaffna with her children. Mrs. Thiruchelvam said that she cannot leave Colombo without her husband.

All this raises many doubts about his arrest, the SLTMA said.