The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, condemns the abduction and beating of Sri Lankan editor Keith Noyahr during the night of May 22.

Noyahr, associate editor and defence columnist for Sri Lanka’s English-language daily, The Nation, was abducted in front of his home in Colombo on Thursday evening, and did not return home until the next morning, bearing visible injuries from a beating. He is currently being treated in a hospital. While doctors indicated that his condition was not serious, a police spokesman said they were unable to obtain a statement from Noyahr because of his psychological condition.

According to Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM), it is widely believed that Noyahr was beaten in connection with his independent coverage and analysis of the ongoing conflict in the northern part of the country. Sri Lankan journalists today staged a protest in response to the incident, demanding a government inquiry.

Sri Lanka’s reputation as a place where violence against journalists goes unpunished continues to grow, and the pervasiveness of impunity was one of several factors prompting the IPI Board to place Sri Lanka back on its Watch List in November 2007. According to information before IPI, no suspected attackers of journalists have been taken to court in the country since President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to office in November 2005.

“IPI joins Sri Lanka’s journalists in urging the government to investigate this incident, as well as other crimes committed against journalists in the country,” said IPI Director David Dadge. “Particularly during times of conflict, journalists play a vital role in ensuring access to information of public interest, and governments must send clear signals that efforts to silence them will not go unpunished.”