Sri Lanka: Court Orders Editor to Produce Notes On Interview

8 Jun 8, 2010,

A Sri Lankan court on Monday ordered the chief editor of Sunday Leader, a local English weekly, to produce the original notes of the controversial interview with the former Army Commander, General (retd.) Sarath Fonseka.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Champa Janaki Rajaratne ordered the chief editor of the Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz to produce her note book containing the original transcript of her interview with General Fonseka in court when the court reconvenes on June 21.

The Magistrate gave this order when the case filed by the Attorney General against the newspaper was taken up yesterday.

The government alleges that the interview with Sarath Fonseka had been an offence under the Emergency Regulations.

eneral Fonseka in an interview with the newspaper last December had said that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered the assassination of several LTTE leaders who had approached the security forces carrying white flags during the final stages of the war against the LTTE last year.

General Fonseka later recanted the accusations saying that the media misinterpreted his comments. However, the editor defended her story saying that she had quoted the retired General 'perfectly accurately'.

Source: Colombo Page