European Radio for Belarus has permanently removed articles about senior Sri Lankan diplomat Sanaka Samarasinha after a two-year legal dispute, with a Polish court having previously found the reporting lacked substantiation and made sensational claims.
A Warsaw-based independent news outlet has taken down articles concerning Sanaka Samarasinha, a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat with three decades of experience in the United Nations system, following the conclusion of litigation in Poland. European Radio for Belarus (Euroradio) announced the removal on July 31, 2026, stating that it regretted the reputational damage caused by the publications and that both parties had agreed to resolve their dispute amicably.
The articles in question were originally published in 2023 and made allegations related to Samarasinha's period leading UN operations in Belarus roughly a decade earlier. According to Euroradio's statement, the editorial team acknowledged the negative impact the reporting had on Samarasinha's reputation. The outlet did not disclose financial terms of the settlement, though the statement noted that costs associated with the court battle had been addressed.
The Polish judiciary had already intervened before the settlement, with the Warsaw District Court issuing orders that progressively restricted the articles' circulation. In April 2025, the court determined that the headlines were sensational in nature, the substantive content lacked clearly formulated allegations, and the material bore no relevance to Samarasinha's official UN responsibilities. The court subsequently extended these restrictions.
Samarasinha, whose UN career spans postings across multiple regions including the Pacific and his home country of Sri Lanka, has also initiated separate legal proceedings in Sri Lanka's capital. A civil defamation case filed in Colombo District Court is expected to reach judgment in October 2026.
