Ganasara thera sentenced for making anti-Islamic comments

The Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena Organisation Ven Galagodaatte Ganasara Thera was today imprisoned for the third time.

The Colombo Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasena  Court today sentenced the monk for nine months after he was found guilty  of making a  defamatory statement regarding Islam.

In addition to the simple imprisonment he was also fined Rs 1,500.

The monk had made the defamatory statement during a press conference held on July 6, 2016 in Kirulapone.

The case had been filed by the Colombo Crime Division for creating religious disharmony.

The court held that the Constitution guarantees the right to follow any religion and therefore a religion cannot be defamed.  

The thera’s lawyers filed a bail application pending the hearing of the appeal.

Attorney at Law Gamini Alwis pleaded that the monk is due to undergo a surgery and is currently under treatment.

He pleaded that it may take a considerable amount of time for the appeal to be heard, and therefore requested the Thero’s release on bail as a special case as the prison sentence is only for period of nine months.

The court said that special reasons should be given to consider the bail application and the reasons given were not special reasons to grant bail. Accordingly the bail application was rejected.

The monk earlier was given a six year RI term in 2018,  after he intruded into the court room and turned abusive when nine Military intelligence persons were produced in courts over the disappearance of Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

However, former President Maithripala Sirisena gave him a Presidential pardon nine months later after he was sentenced.  The pardon has been challenged by the wife of Ekneligoda and is currently being heard.

The monk was also sentenced for four years for another statement he made causing religious disharmony. He is currently on conditional bail and the appeal is pending.

.By Sachithra Gunasekara