[2] On September 5, 2000, Lasantha Wickrematunge was found guilty of criminally defaming Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in a 1995 article in The Sunday Leader.

[8] In late December 2006, an unsuccessful attempt was made to arrest Wickrematunge for "endangering national security" after he published a report exposing an Rs.

Criminal Investigation Department personnel had consulted Sri Lanka's then Attorney General, on the possibility of detaining Wickrematunge under Emergency Regulations.

Wickrematunge addressed the media and a large gathering of supporters outside the premises of The Sunday Leader and stated that he will not seek safe passage overseas and will face all political oppression levelled against him and "stand unbowed and unafraid".

Due to the public outcry and pressure on the Government by the country's Opposition Party and local and international Human Rights organisations, he was not arrested.

[10][11] On the 6th of January 2009, fifteen assailants stormed the studio and transmission complex of MTV MBC and destroyed the main control room and their media equipment.

Lasantha Wickrematunge who had worked as a broadcaster and hosted Good Morning Sri Lanka at Sirasa arrived at the location and condemned the attack as an act of terrorism in his final public appearance.

[16] [17] As Wickrematunge left his home in Nugegoda, he began to notice suspicious activity and received a phone call from one of his staff members at The Sunday Leader who informed him that they had been alerted to a threat of danger and warned him that he was being followed.

[19] [20] Soon after being alerted to the suspicious activity by his friend, Karunaratne drove off to The Sunday Leader office to warn Wickrematunge of the threat brought to his attention.

[19] [16] As Wickrematunge was getting closer to the Leader building, he saw that he was still being followed by the men on the motorcycles and he proceeded to write down the license plates of the bikes whilst driving and started making phone calls.

According to reports, Wickrematunge was attacked at approximately 10.45 am by four unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles in close proximity to the Ratmalana military base.

As he walked towards the car and saw that the window on one side of the vehicle was smashed and wickrematunge injured, he asked some onlookers to help rush him to the nearest hospital.

[27] At this time Rajapaksa who was still in his meeting, received a phone call and was reported to have been listening attentively and only interrupted the telephone exchange to respond ‘oluwatada wedune?’ (Did they hit the head?)

We were all sad to find out that it was this man who was shot," Upon arrival at the Kalubowila, hundreds of people had started to crowd the hospital upon hearing of Wickrematunge's attack.

[40] The Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe responded, calling the assassination part of an anti-democratic conspiracy, and accused the government of attempting to silence its critics.

Reporters Without Borders said that "Sri Lanka has lost one of its more talented, courageous and iconoclastic journalists," and that "President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his associates and the government media are directly to blame because they incited hatred against him and allowed an outrageous level of impunity to develop with regards to violence against the press".

[46] Lindsay Ross, former executive director, Commonwealth Press Union, London condemned the assassination and said,His death marks a true low point in the history of a country that has such a long-established and notable media.

I have watched the situation deteriorate so badly over the last few years that we are now at the point where many respected journalists go in fear of their lives, many have left the country and some of the most distinguished have remained but are under constant threats and intimidation.

[47]In a statement ahead of World Press Freedom Day Ban Ki-moon called on the government of Sri Lanka to ensure that those responsible for Lasantha Wickrematunge's murder were found and prosecuted.