The editor of the Lanka e News website, Sandaruwan Senadheera, has been arrested by police at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), reliable sources said.
He was arrested today (11) while entering the country from overseas, in connection with a warrant issued by the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court 10 years ago.
Gampaha Chief Magistrate Kavindya Nanayakkara had issued a warrant through Interpol on November 25, 2016, for the immediate arrest of Senadheera.
A few days earlier, the then Minister of Justice, Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, had told Parliament that the Lanka e News editor would be arrested through Interpol, alleging that he had published news articles insulting to judges.
Senadheera had been accused of contempt of court for publishing photographs of suspects on the Lanka e News website before an identification parade in the case related to the assault on former editor of Rivira newspaper Upali Tennekoon.
He left the country in 2010 citing security concerns following the arson attack on the Lanka e News office and the disappearance of its journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. Since then, he has been living in Britain after receiving political asylum.
Accordingly, Sandaruwan Senadheera was arrested at the Katunayake Airport upon his return to Sri Lanka after 16 years abroad.
