Sri Lanka jails anti-Muslim Buddhist monk for contempt of court

A Sri Lanka court has handed an anti-Muslim Buddhist monk six months of rigorous imprisonment for threatening a human rights litigant in court and thereby committing contempt of court.

Homagama Chief Magistrate Udesh Ranatunga also ordered the monk, Venerable Gnanasara Thero, general secretary of the anti-Muslim and radical nationalist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), to pay a compensation of LKR 50,000 ($314) on Thursday.

In the event of failing to do so, Gnanasara would be required to serve an additional three months in prison, the magistrate said.

Gnanasara had threatened Sandya Eknaligoda, wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, in the Homagama court on Jan 25, 2016. The Homagama Police filed a case charging him with criminal harassment and criminal intimidation.

Anti-Muslim causes

The monk has become notorious in Sri Lanka for taking up anti-Muslim causes over the last few years.

He had campaigned against Halal certification for food products sold in the market alleging that the All Ceylon Jamaiyathul Ulema was using Halal certification fees to finance jihadi activities. 

He also led an agitation against Sri Lankan Muslim women wearing the abayas especially those covering the face, saying that it is a national security threat. This forced some Muslim women to switch from black abayas to abayas of lighter colours.

The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka set up a system of exchanging black abayas for colourful abayas. Initially many Muslim women in Colombo responded positively.

Aluthgama riots

Ganasara Thero was widely believed to have incited Sinhalese Buddhist mobs to attack Muslim properties in Aluthgama and Darga Town, Muslim settlements south of Colombo, in 2014.

The Aluthgama riots had made Sri Lankan Muslims turn against the then president Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Jan 8 ,2015 election.

With 8 percent of the votes veering away from Rajapaksa as a result of the riots, Rajapaksa’s opponent and the Joint Opposition candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, won the election.

Gnanasara Thero has also been against human rights activists if they are against the Sri Lankan armed forces.

Sandya’s husband cartoonist Prageeth had disappeared allegedly after being abducted by military intelligence.