Gnanasara Thera, Wanted Under Arrest Warrant, Taken Into Custody

05-Oct-2026

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Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, general secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), has been arrested by police after reportedly hiding at a religious retreat in the Diniyawala area of Kalutara.

According to the Police Media Division, Gnanasara Thera was arrested on October 3, 2026, following a tip-off about his presence at the Lenagiriya Aranya Senasanaya in Diniyawala.

An arrest warrant had been issued against him by Colombo High Court Judge Buddhika C. Ragala after he failed to appear in court in a case instituted by the Attorney General over allegations that he had made derogatory remarks about Islam and the Holy Quran.

In a separate matter, contempt-of-court charges had been filed against Gnanasara Thera before the Court of Appeal following complaints submitted by a former Homagama magistrate and Ranga Dissanayake, a former magistrate of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

The charges arose from an incident in January 2016, when the case concerning the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda was taken up at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court. Gnanasara Thera was accused of entering the court premises without authorisation, making statements and obstructing judicial proceedings, thereby insulting the court and state counsel.

On August 8, 2018, the Court of Appeal found him guilty and imposed a prison sentence totalling 19 years, to be served over six years.

He was subsequently released under a presidential pardon granted by then President Maithripala Sirisena.

Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of the missing journalist, and others later filed a fundamental rights petition challenging the constitutionality of the pardon and seeking to have it declared invalid.

After concluding its hearing, the Supreme Court ruled on September 10 that the presidential pardon was invalid.

In delivering the order, Justice Janak de Silva stated that former President Sirisena had granted the pardon arbitrarily without following the legal procedures required for exercising the power of pardon.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the petitioners filed a motion concerning the failure to enforce the original sentence against Gnanasara Thera. The motion was taken up by the Court of Appeal yesterday.

Gnanasara Thera, who had been summoned to appear before the court, failed to attend. The court consequently issued an arrest warrant directing the police to take him into custody and produce him before the court.

The Court of Appeal had previously issued an open warrant on October 1 for his arrest and production before the court in connection with the contempt-of-court conviction and prison sentence.

The court had also imposed a foreign travel ban on him, directed that the order be communicated to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration, and instructed the Inspector General of Police to enforce the arrest warrant.

Police have now arrested Gnanasara Thera pursuant to the court orders and stated that arrangements are being made to produce him before the court.