Lankan court jails controversial Buddhist monk

Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara faces many other cases for allegedly inciting hate crimes targeting Muslims, but this is the first time he has been put in prison.

Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara. (FILE)

A Sri Lankan court on Thursday sentenced controversial Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara to six months in jail for intimidating disappearances activist Sandya Eknaligoda in court over two years ago.

Many Sri Lankans welcomed the development on social media as one giving hope amidst concern over the impunity enjoyed by the saffron robe in the Sinhala-Buddhist majority country. The monk Gnanasara faces many other cases for allegedly inciting hate crimes targeting Muslims, but this is the first time he has been put in prison.

The incident took place in January 2016, when a magistrate court was hearing the case of her husband Prageeth Eknaligoda, a journalist and cartoonist, who has been missing for more than eight years. The monk who leads the hard-line organisation Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force) stormed the courtroom and threatened Ms. Eknaligoda, referring to her missing husband as an “LTTE spy”.

Critical views on Rajapaksa regime

Known for his critical views of the Rajapaksa regime, Mr. Eknaligoda was abducted early 2010. While his abduction is widely attributed to the military, authorities have denied the allegation. Amid apparent political interference and attempts by the military to block investigation, as many as 11 military suspects earlier arrested in connection with the cartoonist’s disappearance case were granted bail in 2016, the State-run

Sunday Observer reported.

The magistrate court in Homagama, about an hour away from Colombo, fined Galagodaatte Gnanasara LKR 1,500 (₹635) and ordered him to pay LKR 50,000 (about ₹21,200) to Ms. Eknaligoda as compensation.

Speaking to the media after the sentence Ms. Eknaligoda, who has been campaigning with relatives of thousands of missing persons all over the island, said it was the duty of the citizen to ensure the rule of law is upheld and strengthened. “I think I have been able to do that today, the magistrate has punished him [the monk]. I am happy that this judgment and sentence was delivered. It sends a message that intimidating and harassing anyone — especially a woman — inside a court house will not be tolerated in the future,” she said.