It is reported that the police have arrested Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS), while he was staying at a forest hermitage in the Thiniyawala area. The arrest was made pursuant to a warrant issued for his arrest and subsequent production before the court.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena had previously granted a presidential pardon to the Thero regarding a charge of contempt of court. However, following a Supreme Court case that annulled this pardon, a warrant was issued ordering his immediate arrest and production before the court.
In August 2018, the Court of Appeal had sentenced Ven. Gnanasara Thero to 19 years of rigorous imprisonment (to be served within a period of six years) for contempt of court, following his conduct during the hearing of the case concerning the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court. A few months after the prison sentence was imposed—specifically in May 2019—then-President Maithripala Sirisena took steps to release him by granting a special presidential pardon.
The Supreme Court heard fundamental rights petitions filed by several parties, including Sandhya Ekneligoda, challenging the legality of the pardon; the Court ruled that the pardon had been granted arbitrarily in violation of the due process prescribed by the Constitution and declared it null and void.
With the presidential pardon rendered void, the original prison sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal legally came back into effect, leading to the execution of the order for his arrest.