The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Friday raided the offices of Sri Lanka Mirror and Sri Lanka X news, the opposition United National Party's web site and arrested nine journalists who were released on bail yesterday.
UNP's lawmaker Mangala Samaraweera said police tried to silence their news website by raiding and sealing its premises besides seizing documents and computers.
He said that the website would start publishing shortly.
"They have taken away all our computers, but that does not mean they can shut us down," he told reporters here. "We will continue to expose this corrupt regime."
"This was a politically motivated raid," Samaraweera said.
Meanwhile, the European Union also expressed concern on the issue today.
"The Heads of Mission of the European Union have noted with concern the action taken against the Sri Lanka Mirror and the Lankanews websites," a statement from the organisation said.
"Freedom of the media is a vital element in democratic societies and journalists must be able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of harassment or intimidation," it said.
"Any action intended to intimidate independent journalism and or limit freedom of expression is in contradiction to UN human rights standards", it added.
The US embassy in Colombo yesterday expressed "deep concern" over the arrest of the journalists and sought an end to harassment of media.
The Nine journalists released on bail yesterday were ordered to appear in court on July 6.
