A Sri Lankan court has sentenced Galagodaatte Gnanasara, a controversial Buddhist monk, to nine months in prison for making anti-Muslim remarks in 2016. This is his second incarceration for stoking religious hatred, having previously been jailed in 2023 for similar offenses targeting the country’s minority Muslim community, which makes up over 10% of the population.
Gnanasara, known for his close ties with former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was appointed in 2021 to lead a panel aimed at reforming the legal system to promote religious harmony. This appointment was criticized by opposition lawmaker Shanakiyan Rasamanickam as ironic. Gnanasara had also faced a six-year sentence in 2018 for intimidating the wife of a missing cartoonist and contempt of court.
