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  3. January
  4. 8
  5. Lasantha Wickrematunge

Deaths on January 8

2009Jan, 8

Lasantha Wickrematunge

Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan Journalist (b. 1958)
Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge (5 April 1958 – 8 January 2009) was a Sri Lankan journalist, politician and human rights activist who was assassinated in January 2009.

Wickrematunge was the founder of The Sunday Leader and Leader Publications alongside his brother and was known for taking "governments of all hues to task", was a "virulent critic of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government", and had been "locked in a legal battle with the president's brother, defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was spearheading the battle against the LTTE rebels.

Wickrematunge's assassination caused a national frenzy being the country's most influential media personnel and one of the biggest political figures and raised questions about freedom of expression in the country. Wickrematunge's murder was widely condemned across the world. The Daily Mirror called it the "biggest blow" to media freedom in Sri Lanka, and the Editors Guild held the government responsible for the killing as it has failed to stop attacks against media personnel. The government also expressed shock at the killing, pledging to do everything in its power to catch his killers. Wickrematunge had been on Amnesty International's endangered list since 1998, when anti-tank shells were fired on his house.

References

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Events on 2009

  • 26Jan

    2009 Malagasy political crisis

    Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
  • 29Jan

    Rod Blagojevich corruption charges

    Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.
  • 12Jun

    2009 Iranian election protests

    A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
  • 4Jul

    September 11 attacks

    The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
  • 5Nov

    2009 Fort Hood shooting

    U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan murders 13 and wounds 32 at Fort Hood, Texas in the deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. military installation.

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