Lankan envoy justifies Tamil scribe's jail term

Sri Lanka has likened the charges against Tamil journalist J S Tissainayagam, sentenced to 20 years in jail for links with LTTE, to any European scribe accepting al-Qaeda funding.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the EU Ravinatha Aryasinha told Human Rights sub committee of the European Parliament in Brussels that he wondered "whether journalists in Europe accepting a cheque from Al Qaeda would be acceptable".

Aryasinha said the committee members gave the impression that Tissainayagam was convicted by the Colombo High Court for writing two articles, which in the view of the prosecution had the effect of inciting communal disharmony.

"They forget the more serious charge proved (against the Tamil scribe) which was that he had accepted funds from the LTTE," the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels quoting the official said in a release.