A Sri Lankan court has sentenced the prominent and controversial Buddhist monk, Galagodaatte Gnanasara, to nine months in prison for making derogatory comments about Islam and inciting religious animosity. The sentence was handed down on Thursday, following his conviction for anti-Muslim statements made in 2016.
This marks the second time Gnanasara has been sentenced to imprisonment for similar offenses. He was previously incarcerated in 2024 for disparaging Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority, which comprises just over 10% of the nation’s 22 million people. At that time, he was granted bail while appealing a four-year sentence.
Gnanasara is known for his close ties with former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who appointed him in 2021 to lead a committee aimed at reforming Sri Lanka’s legal framework to foster religious harmony. The appointment was met with criticism from opposition lawmaker Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, who described it as “the definition of irony.”
In 2018, Gnanasara was also sentenced to six years in prison for threatening the spouse of a missing cartoonist and for contempt of court. However, he was released after serving just nine months, thanks to a pardon granted by former president Maithripala Sirisena.
With the resignation of his patron, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, following widespread protests over Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis in 2022, Gnanasara’s influence has diminished, leading to renewed legal actions against him.
