Facebook icon
Twitter icon
e-mail icon

BBS leader surrender to Sri Lankan police

The general secretary of Bodu Bala Sena Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara has handed himself in to Sri Lankan police in Colombo, after a warrant was issued for his arrest earlier this week.

The BBS chief surrendered alongside two other monks on Tuesday, after being accused of making defamatory remarks about the Quran.

Shiraz Noordeen, a lawyer working on the case, said:

"The monk Gnanasara and six others were charged for allegedly abusing the Holy Quran and assaulting another senior Buddhist monk for preaching inter-faith tolerance last year".

The monk told reporters outside the court,

"We are looked upon as terrorists now and it is the fault of the high (Buddhist) priests who have ignored this".

We need your support

Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.

Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view

We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.

For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.