Dying for Journalism: Lasantha Wickrematunge of Sri Lanka

Lasantha Wickrematunge, one of Sri Lanka's leading journalists, a freelance reporter for TIME and an outspoken critic of the Sri Lankan government, was shot this morning as he drove to work in Colombo, his country's capital. He later died of his injuries.

His death has galvanized the growing anger among the press and other civil-society groups in Sri Lanka about restrictions on free expression in the country and intimidation of the media. Just two days earlier, the offices of Sri Lanka's largest private broadcasting company were attacked in the middle of the night. "What has happened to Lasantha Wickrematunge today is an absolute atrocity," said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a research group based in Colombo. He said the two attacks were linked, part of a plan to silence Sri Lanka's few independent media voices. "Those who are doing it want to stifle dissent and destroy democracy in this country."  TIME