COLOMBO, Aug 31, 2009 (AFP) - Sri Lanka's High Court sentenced a Tamil journalist to 20 years in prison Monday after convicting him on terrorism charges, officials said.

J.S. Tissainayagam, 45, who contributed to the local Sunday Times and ran a website, Outreachsl.com, that focused on the island's Tamil population, was found guilty of causing "racial hatred" and "supporting terrorism," a court official said.

The court found that he had received money from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to fund his website.

Tissainayagam has been in custody since his arrest in March last year, despite appeals by both local and international media rights groups for his release.

He is the first Sri Lankan journalist to be convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act enacted in the early 1980s. His lawyers said they will appeal the conviction.