Two bodyguards of a former air force officer were sentenced to nine years in prison for threatening Iqbal Athas, defense correspondent for The Sunday Times, in a nighttime raid on his house that terrorized his wife and daughter. Mr. Athas had been writing exposés about air force corruption. The judge said: ''In a democratic country like Sri Lanka, newspapers have a right to expose the corruption of anyone. If crime is used to suppress it, then stern action should be taken.'' Celia W. Dugger (NYT)