Social media activist Sepal Amarasinghe has been released from
the Colombo Magistrate's Court after issuing an unconditional apology for
defaming the Temple of Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy. The decision
to conclude the case pertaining to his arrest for defamation was announced
after the case was taken up for hearing before Colombo Magistrate Prasanna
Alwis.
During the hearing, Amarasinghe's lawyer informed the court that his client unconditionally apologized to the Mahanayake Theros and the followers of Buddhism for his actions. Representing the complainants, Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris informed the court that the case could be concluded if such an apology was issued.
A group of Buddhist monks was present during the court hearing and accepted Amarasinghe's apology, after which the court decided to conclude the case. Amarasinghe was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) on 5th January after making several controversial statements about Sri Dalada Maligawa on his yyoutube channel.
His arrest came after the Mahanayake Theros of the Malwathu and Asgiriya sectors drew President Ranil Wickremesinghe's attention to the matter, urging him to take necessary action. The Mahanayake Theros stated in a joint letter to the President that the video footage circulated on social media platforms by Amarasinghe contained statements offensive to Buddhism, causing harm to the religion and the historic 'Sri Dalada Maligawa'.
By Polito
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