The Colombo High Court (HC) yesterday (23) upheld the prison sentence imposed on General Secretary of Bodu Bala Sena, Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, by the Colombo Magistrate's Court (MC). 

Colombo HC Judge Manjula Tilakaratne delivered the verdict, dismissing an appeal filed by the Thera seeking his acquittal and release from the sentence.

The Police had filed a case against Gnanasara Thera under the Penal Code, accusing him of making a statement that disrupted communal harmony by allegedly insulting Islam. Following a trial, the Colombo MC found Thera guilty of the charge and sentenced him accordingly.