Independent Belarusian news outlet European Radio for Belarus (Euroradio) has permanently removed articles concerning senior Sri Lankan diplomat Sanaka Samarasinha, expressing regret for damaging his reputation and paying costs to conclude a two-year Polish court battle.
In a public statement published July 31, 2026, on euroradio.fm (https://euroradio.fm/en/euroradio-editorial-statement-sanaka-samarasinha), the Warsaw-based outlet’s editorial team confirmed the removal:
“Guided by this mission and by respect for the individuals who are the subject of our publications, we hereby inform our readers that the articles concerning Mr. Sanaka Samarasinha have been permanently removed from the euroradio.fm website. The editorial team expresses its regret for the negative impact that the articles had on Mr. Sanaka Samarasinha’s good name. The parties have agreed to resolve the court dispute amicably.”
The resolution stems from legal proceedings initiated after Euroradio published two articles in 2023 containing unsubstantiated allegations regarding Samarasinha’s tenure as head of the United Nations office in Belarus nearly a decade prior.
The outcome follows a series of injunctions issued by the Polish judiciary. The Warsaw District Court previously ordered a one-year suspension of the articles’ circulation on April 2, 2025, ruling that the headlines were sensational, the content lacked clear allegations, and the material held no bearing on Samarasinha’s official UN duties. The court subsequently extended the injunction.
Samarasinha, who began his three-decade UN career in Colombo before leading UN operations in Belarus and across 10 nations in the Pacific, has filed a separate civil defamation suit in the Colombo District Court, where a judgment is expected in October 2026.