On 22 March, the Colombo office of Sirasa TV and Radio was attacked by a mob that arrived in a bus in broad daylight and started throwing stones at the building, damaging the glass and several vehicles.

According to the Sunday Times, the staff of the Sirasa office retaliated by throwing stones and using water hydrants to prevent the mobs advancing.

The newspaper also reported that, according to eyewitnesses, some of the attackers had claimed they were sent by Sri Lanka Minister Mervyn Silva.

“It is disturbing that the Sri Lankan authorities have failed to react swiftly both to stop the attack as it was carried out as well as in bringing the perpetrators to justice and therefore send a clear signal that such acts are not tolerated,” said IPI Deputy Director Alison Bethel McKenzie.

Expressing concern for the delay in police intervention, the Sri Lankan chapter of the South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) said that “it was more the effort of ordinary citizens than that of the police that resulted in the mob violence being resisted and ended.”

On 23 March, President Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly directed IGP Mahinda Balasuriya to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack. However, IPI is not aware of any charges being made as of today.

Images of the attack on the media house were captured by Sirasa TV cameras and shown in news bulletins. The station offered a Rs. 50,000 reward to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of the attackers.

In November 2009, an international mission to Sri Lanka, that included IPI, looked at ongoing investigations into cases of harassment and violence against the media and called for “accountability for all past abuses against media personnel, particularly murders and physical attacks, but also including verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, within a reasonable time frame.”