Individuals presenting themselves as media activists are blackmailing Members of Parliament who face court cases, offering to settle the matters with the plaintiffs and demanding money to stay silent, MP Jagath Vithane has alleged.
Vithane made the claim to the Daily Mirror on Monday.
“These individuals, who claim to be media activists, actually engage in blackmailing MPs, saying they will provide information to the media on the allegations they face if they don’t pay the amount of money demanded,” he said.
The case he describes
Vithane said one such person demanded Rs. 1 million from him, threatening to publicise a land sale he was involved in 15 years ago.
By his account the sale was lawful: he sold a plot of land he owned and the buyers deposited the money into his bank account. He alleged the person approached the buyer and asked them to say the land had been sold for an exorbitant sum, promising the buyer a share of money in return.
“The land sale was legal but this individual has already spread a story saying I have been engaged in an illegal land deal,” Vithane said. “He demanded Rs. 1 million to stop spreading the false story about me.”
The MP did not name the person, and the Daily Mirror does not say whether he has made a formal complaint to police.
Context
The allegation lands in a period when a large number of sitting and former parliamentarians are before the courts, and when the boundary between reporting on those cases and trading in them has already been raised in Parliament. An allegation of blackmail involving the judiciary was aired in the chamber earlier this month in a separate matter concerning the Chief Justice.
Note on spelling: the Daily Mirror renders the MP’s name Vithane; other newsrooms have previously written it Vithana.
Not reported
The report does not name the individuals accused, say how many MPs Vithane believes have been approached, or state whether any of them paid. It does not say whether Vithane has complained to the police, the Criminal Investigation Department or any media regulator, whether the person he describes holds accreditation from any recognised outlet, or whether the buyer of the land has been asked to respond. No date is given for when the Rs. 1 million demand was made.
Nobody accused has been given a right of reply in the report, and none of the allegations has been tested in court.
