In October 2000, BBC journalist Nimalarajan Mylvaganam was assassinated in his home in Jaffna, one of the earliest targeted killings of a Tamil journalist during Sri Lanka’s civil war. His murder became a symbol of the deadly cost of reporting amid ethnic conflict and state-sponsored violence, and of the entrenched climate of impunity that has silenced dozens of journalists. Between 2000 and 2010, at least 44 media workers were killed in Sri Lanka—yet not a single perpetrator has ever been brought to justice.
This joint report by REDRESS and the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) offers a forensic examination of the Sri Lankan justice system’s handling of Nimalarajan’s case. Drawing on two decades of court records, it exposes how investigative failures, political interference, and deliberate inaction ensured that accountability was never possible. While some suspects were detained, politically connected figures evaded justice and even fled abroad. Today, the case remains unresolved, with international efforts stalled by Sri Lanka’s lack of cooperation. The report underscores both the systemic failures that protected perpetrators and the urgent need for renewed action to secure justice for Nimalarajan and other murdered journalists.