Sri Lankan Court Sentences Influential Buddhist Monk to Nine Months in Prison for Islamic Insults and Religious Hatred
A Sri Lankan court has imposed a nine-month jail term on a prominent Buddhist monk, Galagodaatte Gnanasara, for making anti-Muslim statements and inciting religious hatred. The monk, who has significant political influence in the predominantly Buddhist country, was found guilty of a series of hateful remarks made since 2016.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the monk was convicted on Thursday, January 9, 2025. This is his second imprisonment, having previously received a three-month jail term last year for similar offenses targeting Sri Lanka‘s Muslim minority, who make up around 10% of the country’s 22 million population.
Gnanasara is currently out on bail and has filed an appeal against a four-year jail sentence he received last year. He is well-known for his close association with former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who appointed him as the head of a panel to reform Sri Lanka’s legal system and maintain religious harmony in 2021.
At the time of his appointment, opposition parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam described the move as "a definition of irony."
