Tharindu Jayawardhana
Tharindu Jayawardhana is a respected investigative journalist and a dedicated human rights defender. He is the president of the Sri Lanka Young Journalist Association (SLYJA) and the chief editor of MediaLK, an investigative news website. He also works as a researcher at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR). As a journalist and human rights defender, Tharindu Jayawardhana has been an advocate for the rights of oppressed and vulnerable communities and against state violence.
The situation for human Rights Defenders has significantly improved since Maithripala Sirisena came to power in January 2015, with improved conditions for freedom of expression, civil society and judicial independence. The Sirisena administration has ushered in a broad reversal of the country’s authoritarian drift under Mahinda Rajapaksa, but human rights defenders fighting against corruption, enforced disappearances or defending environmental rights remain at great risk.
