Iqbal Athas
Encyclopedia
Iqbal Athas is a Sri Lankan journalist who sometimes contributes to CNN
. Athas was the defence columnist for the Sunday Times
and he also contributed to Jane's Defence Weekly
. He was threatened for his investigative reporting which uncovered scandals in the purchase of the arms by Sri Lankan Defence personnel, particularly the Sri Lankan Airforce.
. Sri Lanka ordered a probe into the deal. Security given to Iqbal Athas was withdrawn after this article was published.
The ruling SLFP party staged a protest near his house calling on him not to reveal sensitive information. International media have appealed for restoration of security. Journalist W. G. Gunaratne, who translated Iqbal Athas’s articles into Sinhala for the newspaper Lankadeepa, has received death threats.
There have been recent allegations that Athas is spying for the Sri Lankan regime and passing on information about the Colombo based diplomatic community, other journalists and NGO's compromising them.
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. Athas was the defence columnist for the Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)
The Sunday Times is a popular Sri Lankan Sunday broadsheet initially published by now defunct Times Group until the early 1980s, when it was taken over by Wijeya Newspapers Ltd...
and he also contributed to Jane's Defence Weekly
Jane's Defence Weekly
Jane's Defence Weekly is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman who first published Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships in 1898...
. He was threatened for his investigative reporting which uncovered scandals in the purchase of the arms by Sri Lankan Defence personnel, particularly the Sri Lankan Airforce.
Career as journalist
Iqbal Athas has been an investigative reporter on defence issues and has faced several threats to his life due to this. On February 1998 armed men entered his house and threatened him and his family as he had written about corruption in the Army and in 2002 during the ceasefire two Sri Lankan airforce officers were convicted for the attack.Article on Defence deal
Iqbal Athas exposed corruption involved in the purchase of second-hand MiG-27 from UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Sri Lanka ordered a probe into the deal. Security given to Iqbal Athas was withdrawn after this article was published.
The ruling SLFP party staged a protest near his house calling on him not to reveal sensitive information. International media have appealed for restoration of security. Journalist W. G. Gunaratne, who translated Iqbal Athas’s articles into Sinhala for the newspaper Lankadeepa, has received death threats.
There have been recent allegations that Athas is spying for the Sri Lankan regime and passing on information about the Colombo based diplomatic community, other journalists and NGO's compromising them.