The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is shocked to learn of the detention of N. Vidyatharan, editor of the Tamil newspaper Sudar Oli, who disappeared on Wednesday 25 February after a group of unidentified men, some of whom in police uniform, forcibly bundled him in a van and drove off in the manner of a kidnap operation.

"We condemn this display of thuggish tactics against journalists in Sri Lanka;" said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The harassment of media has now reached unprecedented levels and the world needs to speak out against the government's reckless behaviour."

Fears that Vidyatharan had been abducted were allayed when the Sri Lankan government's Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) confirmed that he was in the custody of a special branch of the police. MCNS director-general, Lakshman Hulugalle, reportedly dismissed all concerns about the violent manner of Vidyatharan's arrest on the grounds that he was allegedly a "wanted person".

The IFJ believes that his arrest, especially the manner in which it was effected, is part of the ongoing "war on journalism". "Vidyatharan was snatched from a ceremony without being served any arrest warrant nor any reason given for his arrest," added White. "His arrest and the official justification for it are consistent with the growing intolerance within the Sri Lankan government of critical and dissenting voices among the journalistic community."

According to the eyewitness account from E. Saravanpavan, chairman of the newspaper group that owns Sudar Oli, Vidyatharan's captors arrived unannounced and used disproportionate force in effecting the arrest, after beating off other mourners at the funeral ceremony who tried to protect him.

Vidyatharan was interrogated for nearly eight hours on February 16 by officers from a special branch of the police on the sources his newspaper had used for a story on civilian casualties of ongoing military operations in the north of Sri Lanka.

Launched in 2001 from Colombo, Sudar Oli is one of Sri Lanka's main Tamil language newspapers. It has a daily circulation of around 20,000 copies, of which around 7,000 are read in the eastern province of the Sri Lanka.

Its sister publication, Uthayan, published from Jaffna city, has a daily circulation of 22,000 and is the principal vehicle for Tamil language advertisers in the northern province. As such, it is able to carry part of the costs of publishing Sudar Oli which earns little income from advertising.

The newspapers have faced a number of threats and attacks over the years, including an estimated nine murders of staff members as well as bomb and grenade attacks on premises in both Jaffna and Colombo. Both Saravanapavan and Vidyatharan have also received repeated threats over the years to cease publishing stories that represent the Tamil viewpoint in the island nation's long-running civil conflict.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 122 countries