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WHERE IS PRAGEETH EKNALIGODA?

Prageeth Eknaligoda is a Sri Lankan journalist, cartoonist and political analyst who has been missing since he left work on the evening of January 24, 2010, just days before a presidential election in Sri Lanka. Shortly before his “disappearance,” Prageeth Eknaligoda had completed a comparative analysis of the two main presidential candidates, coming out in favour of the opposition.

In the days leading up to his “disappearance,” he told a close friend that he believed he was being followed. His case is emblematic of the tens of thousands of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka. Police investigations have not clarified Prageeth’s status or whereabouts.

Call on the Sri Lankan government to effectively investigate his enforced disappearance, inform his family of his fate, and prosecute those responsible for this crime.

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President

Gotabaya

Rajapaksa

Sri Lanka

President of Sri Lanka

Maithripala

Sirisena

Dear President Dissanayake,

I am deeply concerned about Prageeth Eknaligoda, a Sri Lankan journalist and political analyst working for the organization Lanka-e-News.  On January 24, 2010, he disappeared shortly after leaving work at the Lanka-e-News office in Homagama, near Colombo.  Local residents told the Sri Lankan press that they had seen a white van without number plates close to his house around that time.  The last contact with him was at 9:30 P.M. that day; since then, his phone has not functioned and his friends and family have not heard from him.  In the days leading up to his disappearance he had told a close friend that he believed he was being followed.
 
Since then, his wife, Sandya Eknaligoda, has vigorously campaigned to get the government to account for his whereabouts, including filing a habeas corpus case in court.  After one of the court hearings in the case in January 2016, a prominent Buddhist extremist monk, Galagodatte Gnanasara Thero, threatened her outside the court.  He was later convicted of contempt of court on May 24, 2018, for his behavior that day.  Following his conviction, Sandya was subjected to a barrage of hate, abuse, intimidation, harassment and death threats on social media.
 
Since 2006, at least 15 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka, with no one held accountable for these murders.  Numerous journalists have been detained while others have left the country after receiving death threats.  Physical attacks and the relentless intimidation of journalists are threatening freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.  The disappearance of Mr. Eknaligoda is but one example.
 
I respectfully request that the Sri Lankan government investigate the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda, make the results of the investigation public and hold accountable those responsible for his disappearance.  I also urgently request that the government investigate the threats against Sandya Eknaligoda and take appropriate action against those who would cause her harm.  I would also ask that the Sri Lankan government end the climate of impunity that has allowed a long campaign of intimidation and violence against independent journalists in Sri Lanka.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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