Richard de Zoysa

Richard Manik de Zoysa (; ; 18 March 1958 – 18 February 1990) was a well-known Sri Lankan journalist, author, human rights activist and actor who was abducted and murdered on 18 February 1990. His murder caused widespread outrage inside the country and is widely believed to have been carried out by a death squad linked to elements within the government.

Life and death

Background De Zoysa was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was of mixed ethnicity, his father Lucien de Zoysa a majority Sinhalese and his mother Manorani Saravanamuttu, a family physician from the minority Sri Lankan Tamil community. His mother's father, Manicasothy Saravanamuttu, was a prominent journalist and diplomat in Malaya. His brother, Michael de Zoysa, was a Sri Lankan cricketer.

He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where his acting talents in Sinhala were encouraged by D.S. Jayasekera. He was judged Best Actor in the English medium at the national inter-school Shakespeare Drama Competition in 1972. He was a member of the Debating Team and Drama Society along with Chanaka Amaratunga.

Abduction At the time of his abduction and murder, de Zoysa was the head of the Colombo office of the Inter Press Service. He lived in the Welikadawatte housing estate with his mother Manorani Saravanamuttu and associate A. V. Karunaratne. at Moratuwa, some 12 miles south of Colombo. He had been shot in the head and the throat and his jaw had been broken. They were acquitted of all charges on 9 November 2005 by Colombo High Court Judge Rohini Perera; she stated that the evidence presented by the prosecution was "contradictory and not credible".

Aftermath de Zoysa's murder is widely believed to have been carried out by a death squad formed under the auspices of members of the government to crush the insurrection launched by the militant Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) organization. Since 1987, when the insurrection was launched, these death squads are alleged to have killed thousands of alleged JVP members in an ultimately successful attempt to quell the rebellion. They are also alleged to have killed political opponents, including de Zoysa, who was linked to the JVP.

Legacy An award in recognition of independent journalism was established by the UN-sponsored Inter Press Service news agency in de Zoysa's memory.

Rajiva Wijesinha wrote a novel based on the life and death of Richard de Zoysa titled Limits of Love. Published after the death of Richard's mother in 2005, it has some controversial revelations including explicit references to the homosexuality of the main character.

The main character of Shehan Karunatilaka's novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, was also inspired by Richard de Zoysa. One of the characters' names, Malinda Albert Kabalana, is a reference to de Zoysa's role Malin Kabalana in Yuganthaya, and is described as a closeted gay man who sets out to solve the mystery of his own death and is given one week ("seven moons") during which he can travel between the afterlife and the real world. In this time, he hopes to retrieve a set of photographs, stored under a bed, and to persuade his friends to share them widely to expose the brutalities of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

In the 2025 film Rani, actor Rehan Amarathunga played the role of Richard de Zoysa.

Filmography In 1983, de Zoysa starred in Lester James Peries's film Yuganthaya alongside Gamini Fonseka. The role of socialist Malin Kabalana in the movie closely mirrored de Zoysa's own beliefs. His last role was that of Wimal in Tissa Abeysekara's film Viragaya.

Year Film Role Ref. 1985 Yuganthaya Malin Kabalana 1987 Sathyagrahanaya Nimal Weerawantha