President of the Young Journalists Association of Sri Lanka, Tharindu Jayawardhana has been summoned to the CID today over a post the YJASL had created and he had shared on his Facebook account. The post had featured photographs of Police personnel involved in the obstruction of a peaceful protest on 9 October at the Galle Face Green. The post had requested the public to share information on the Police personnel featured in it so that the YJASL could file legal action by way of FR petitions personally against them for blocking the protest.

Jayawardhana has now been summoned by the CID over the post. He was also questioned by the Colombo Crimes Division last week over the same incident.

Issuing a statement recently the YJASL said its interventions in recent times has now made it a target of state-sponsored oppression unleashed on it through various parties to the government, the Sri Lanka Police and the Attorney General's Department raising concerns on the safety of its activists, especially after the 9 October protest.

“Following the incident, Jayawardhana personally filed a case against SSP Roshan Dias and ASP Nalinda Dilruk for illegally obstructing the peaceful protest. When the case was taken up on 8 November at the Colombo Fort Magistrates Court, it was noted that the Attorney Generals' Department attempted to level a series of unfounded allegations against him, claiming Jayawardhana was conspiring to bring disrepute to the Sri Lanka Police and they would initiate legal action against him.” the organisation said.