Journalists Arrested in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan police arrested five Tamil journalists in Colombo after they were accused of receiving bribes from Tamil Tiger rebels. The act is being condemned by a media freedom group called Reporters Without Borders as some of the journalists received brutal beatings during their first days in detention as a means to extract confessions from them. According to the group, the money received by two of the arrested journalists were to help Tamil students and to fund the Outreach website. The group is demanding an explanation from the Sri Lankan government, who has not yet made any comment on the matter.
According to the BBC, Sri Lanka has become unsafe for journalists since the escalation of violence in the country. The Tiger Rebels have been fighting for an independent homeland for the Tamil-speaking minority group since 1983.