<p>A Sri Lankan court has sentenced nine months prison to a a politically influential monk for insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred in the island nation.</p>
<p>Galagodaatte Gnanasara was convicted on Thursday for the remarks he made during a press conference in 2016. He was arrested in December for his remarks against Islam.</p>
<p>Being a Buddhist monk country, Sri Lanka rarely convicts monks, however, the ruling of Colombo Magistrate Court which handed a sentence to Gnanasara is marked as a rare conviction.</p>
<p>According to BBC, Gnanasara was also handed a fine of 1,500 Sri Lankan rupees. The court’s ruling stated that if the convict failed to pay the fine, then it would lead to an additional month of imprisonment. Following the latest conviction, Gnanasara has filed an appeal against the court’s sentence. The court, however, rejected a request from his lawyers to free him on bail until a final judgment was made on the appeal.</p>
<p>According to the court, all citizens, regardless of religion, are entitled to the freedom of belief under the Constitution.</p>
<p>However, this is the second time Gnanasara has been sentenced. In 2018, he was sentenced to six years in prison for contempt of court and for intimidating the wife of a political cartoonist who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. However, he served only nine months before receiving a presidential pardon from then-President Maithripala Sirisena.</p>
<p>According to NewsX, Gnanasara has been a trusted ally of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Rajapaksa resigned and flee abroad amid mass protests over Sri Lanka’s economic crisis in 2022. During Rajapaksa’s presidency, Gnanasara was appointed to lead a presidential task force which focused on legal reforms to promote religious harmony in 2021.</p>
<p>Given Gnanasara history of controversial statements and accusations of promoting anti-Muslim sentiment, his role has often been criticized. Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, the opposition lawmaker, termed Gnanasara’s appointment as “the definition of irony”.</p>
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