The editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper The Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz, has received death threats related to her work as a journalist, the Colombo Telegraph reported on Friday. Jansz reportedly received a letter at her home address threatening her with extreme violence, and adding that she would “not be spared”. The letter, which is reproduced in full on the Colombo Telegraph website, threatens Jansz for her testimony in the notorious “White Flag” case.

Jansz’s involvement in the case stems from an interview with former Sri Lankan Army chief and former presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka, in which he claimed that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had ordered the killing of senior LTTE leaders who had surrendered with white flags during the final stages of the bloody civil war that ended in 2009. (Under the Third Geneva Convention, prisoners of war who surrender may not be mistreated or harmed) Fonseka later said he was quoted out of context by the newspaper.

The court demanded to see copies of notes taken by Jansz during the interview.

A verdict is expected in the case on 18 November.

In January 2009, the Sunday Leader’s former editor-in-chief, Lasantha Wickrematunge, was assassinated on his way to work.  Wickrematunge, who was known for his criticism of the Rajapksa government, had written an editorial before his death predicting his killing and claiming that the killers would be known to the president. Wickrematunge had been receiving threats for some time, and had been attacked repeatedly.

Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is the brother of current president Mahindra Rajapaksa, is currently seeking huge damages from the Sunday Leader on various charges of defamation.