A Sri Lankan court on Thursday placed a national ban on the news website LankaeNews.com until 12 May. The court also extended the remand of Shantha Wijesooriya – a journalist working for the website who was arrested on 25 April for contempt of court – until 12 May, when the next court hearing is scheduled to take place.

In a statement on its website, LankaeNews said that both decisions had been made by the district court judge Kumari Abeyratne of the Pugoda magistrate after the lawyers representing Wijesooriya refused to accept the charges. The lawyers also stated that they would appear before the appellate court with regard to the decision.

According to local news reports, the charges against Wijesooriya arose from an article published on the website on 19 April. The article stated that a Pugoda magistrate was keeping two suspects in custody despite a written order by the attorney general to release them. The website subsequently posted an apology stating that the article was erroneous.

IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “IPI steadfastly promotes balanced, fair, and accurate reporting. At the same time, IPI does not believe in disproportionate penalties for factual errors. The newspaper issued an apology. It should not be the subject of a ban. If any party feels misrepresented by the erroneous article, they should pursue the matter through appropriate media bodies and the civil courts. And even in the civil courts, any fines imposed should not be disproportionate.”

LankaeNews is known for its criticism of the government and had previously supported the opposition presidential candidate Sareth Fonseka, who is now in prison. The website has in the past been the target of several attacks. On 31 March, international news agencies reported the arrest of the site’s editor, Bennet Rupasinghe, for allegedly threatening another man, a move press freedom observers saw as an attempt to silence the news outlet. Rupasinghe was granted bail on 7 April and he is reportedly expected to appear before court on 7 July.

Prageeth Eknaligod, a political columnist for LankaeNews, has been missing since 24 January 2010, two days before Sri Lanka’s presidential polls. The journalist had reportedly expressed opinions in favour of Fonseka.

In January 2011 the office of the website was set on fire, an act in which Rupasinghe had said he suspected “a government hand”. The website’s chief editor Sandaruwan Senadheera fled the country in 2010 after receiving threatening phone calls.