Attacked for Words: A Terror Campaign against Sri Lankan Journalists

Poddala Jayantha is a Sri Lankan journalist and activist who in June 2009, following numerous threats on his life, was abducted by unidentified assailants and brutally beaten. Jayantha dedicated his career to exposing injustice in Sri Lanka's health, education and transport sectors. One of his reports uncovered what some have called Sri Lanka's biggest ever tax scam, involving the alleged misappropriation of $37 million. He has since received several awards for his courageous reports on corruption in a climate where critical investigative journalism has been stymied by government oppression and partisan violence. Jayantha now lives in exile in the United States, where he continues in his role as president of the Sri Lankan Working Journalists' Association. Part of the First Amendment Day Celebration.