News and events

Report slams Sri Lanka's failure to investigate murder of BBC journalist Nimalarajan Mylvaganam

2025-09-08

A new report by the International Truth and Justice Project ITJP and REDRESS has condemned Sri Lankas failure to investigate the 2000 murder of Tamil journalist Nimalarajan Mylvaganam, calling it a textbook case of investigative failure.

Nimalarajan, a respected journalist for the BBC, Virakesari, and Ravaya, was shot dead in his Jaffna home on October 19, 2000. His father was stabbed, and his mother and brother were injured by a grenade. The EPDP, a governmentaligned paramilitary group, is suspected of the killing.

The report outlines a series of grave lapses by Sri Lankan authorities in the investigation of Nimalarajans murder. It highlights how officials failed to secure the crime scene or conduct any proper forensic analysis, ignored critical witness statements regarding death threats from the EPDP, and made no attempt to trace threatening phone callsdespite strong indications that the journalists communications were being monitored. Furthermore, the authorities permitted known suspects to remain free without pursuing a thorough investigation, reinforcing a pattern of impunity.

In 2022, the UKs Met Police War Crimes Team arrested a suspect, but he was later released. REDRESS Director Rupert Skilbeck stated that the case shows how other countries can act when Sri Lanka fails.

The report situates this murder in a broader pattern of impunity for violence against Tamil journalists, with 44 journalists killed or disappeared between 2000 and 2010. The Jaffna Press Club had warned that this case set the stage for future attacks.



Despite several domestic commissions, no justice has been delivered. Tamil journalists in the Northeast continue to face intimidation, surveillance, and harassment for reporting on human rights abuses.

The report concludes with a call for international accountability, warning that Sri Lankas inaction perpetuates a dangerous culture of impunity.