July 02, Colombo: A group of journalists and photographers today staged a massive protest against the abductions and assaulting of journalists in Sri Lanka.

The journalists peacefully staged the protest outside the President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence Temple Trees. The protest was sparked by the recent attack on journalist Namal Perera and his friend Political Officer Mahendra Ratnaweera at the British High Commission in Sri Lanka.

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe and a group of parliamentarians along with the Muslim Congress MP Rauf Hakim also stood with the journalists during this protest.

Yesterday the government ordered an investigation into the attack. The British High Commission and the US Embassy condemning the assault urged the government to bring the perpetrators to justice swiftly.

Since August 2005, 12 media workers have been killed in Sri Lanka. Eleven of them died in government-controlled areas and no one has been brought to justice in connection with the deaths.