Both ther journalist and his publisher were arrested by the TID

But there are still questions remain over the announcement and the press freedom in Sri Lanka, they say.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to offer a pardon to the jailed journalist, Foreign Minister Prof. GL Peiris announced on Monday.

Tissainayagam was sentenced to twenty years after a court convicted him for charges of inciting hatred among Sri Lanka's communities.

Mr Tissainayagam's sentence was the harshest given to a Sri Lankan journalist in recent years.

"It is fitting that the announcement came on World Press Freedom Day, which celebrates the vital role a free media plays in every democracy," The US embassy in Colombo said in a statement.

Obama's statement

Media and human rights watchdogs, however, say more needs to be done to protect the freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.

Reporter Without borders (RSF) awarded Tissainayagam, while in custody, the first prize in the Peter Mackler Award for journalistic courage and integrity.

	Mr. Rajapaksa is named, for the second time, as a 'press freedom predator'

Vincent Brossel, Asia-Pacific desk, RSF, told BBC Sinhala service that the president's decision to offer the journalist a pardon exactly a year after President Obama made a reference to Tissainayagam's plight, was "a direct reply to Mr. Obama's statement."

He said that it is the responsibility of the government to guarantee Tissainayagam's safety.

"It is a very worrying case for freedom of Sri Lanka, it was one of the few cases in the world where a journalist was convicted for terrorism. Unfortunately it has been a tragic story for Tissainayagam and his family. It was very late for the president to understand that; it was illegal and unconstitutional from the beginning."

'Illegal and unconstitutional'

Both RSF and Amnesty International (AI) insist that the arrest and charging Tissainayagam should never have happened in the first place.

Dr. Yolanda Foster, Amnesty Internationals' researcher on Sri Lanka & Nepal, told BBC Sandeshaya recalled that the AI declared Tissainayagam as a prisoner of conscious.

	Watchdogs say the journalist should never have been charged

"While this is very good news we do have to remember that there are still very serious issues of media freedom in Sri Lanka; there are a number of journalists who remain in detention under the emergency regulations. It is important the govt releases others who are being held under emergency. Either charge them or release them," she said.

The New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the details of the announcement are still skechy.

Bob Dietz, Asia Programme director, CPJ, said: "Still a lot of points have to be clarified, whether Tissainayagam will have his full rights return to him, will he be allowed to leave the country, etc. And it is also interesting to see whether anti-terrorist laws under which he was detained will remain in place."

Meanwhile, in a report to mark the World Press Freedom Day on Monday, the RSF has named Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as one of 40 "press freedon predators" in the world.

"The president's younger brother and defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse is openly hostile to the media and has not stopped targeting Sri Lankan and foreign journalists... Whenever a journalist is murdered or kidnapped, he publicly questions the victim's credibility," the RSF said.