Police in Sri Lanka have arrested a key figure from an extremist Buddhist organisation blamed for a series of hate crimes against Muslims that has drawn international censure. The 32-year-old man from the radical Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), or Buddhist Force, is the first suspect to be arrested in connection with arson attacks against Muslims … Read more
A controversial Sri Lankan Buddhist monk linked to a wave of hate attacks targeting the country’s Muslim minority has gone into hiding, his party and police said Thursday. Galagodaatte Gnanasara’s Buddhist Force party said the monk, who is wanted in connection with recent arson attacks against mosques and Muslim-owned businesses, had feared he could be … Read more
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said Wednesday he would not protect anyone guilty of murder during the civil war, flagging arrests for a spate of high-profile crimes allegedly perpetrated by security forces. Sirisena, who has been criticised for failing to establish credible investigations into war-era abuses, said he would not stand by murderers but would … Read more
Former Sri Lanka president Mahinda Rajapakse’s brother Gotabhaya directed a top-secret death squad which targeted journalists and dissidents, a court was told Monday. Criminal Investigations Department (CID) told the Mount Lavinia magistrate’s court that Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who was Sri Lanka’s defence secretary during his brother’s rule, directed a secret unit which is accused of assassinating … Read more