Sri Lankan firebrand monk jailed for anti-Muslim remarks

Galagodaatte Gnanasara sentenced to nine months in prison for making derogatory remarks about Islam

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A Sri Lankan court has sentenced an influential Buddhist monk, Galagodaatte Gnanasara, to nine months in prison for making derogatory remarks about Islam and inciting religious hatred.

The charges date back to 2016 when Gnanasara, known for his firebrand rhetoric, publicly insulted Sri Lanka's minority Muslim population. This is the second time Gnanasara has been jailed for similar offenses.

In the previous year, he was convicted on charges of disparaging Muslims, a community that comprises over 10 percent of the island's 22 million population. At the time, he was released on bail while appealing a four-year sentence.

A close ally of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Gnanasara was appointed head of a panel in 2021 tasked with reforming Sri Lanka’s legal system to promote religious harmony.

This appointment drew sharp criticism, with opposition lawmaker Shanakiyan Rasamanickam labeling it "the definition of irony."

In 2018, Gnanasara was also sentenced to six years for intimidating the wife of a missing cartoonist and contempt of court. However, he was granted a presidential pardon after serving just nine months in prison under then-president Maithripala Sirisena.

Following the resignation of Rajapaksa in 2022 amid widespread protests over Sri Lanka's severe economic crisis, Gnanasara's political influence waned, and he once again faced legal action.

His latest conviction further highlights the ongoing tensions surrounding religious and ethnic divisions in Sri Lanka.