OCTOBER 8 — Sri Lanka has found itself in a furious national argument about a convicted man’s clothes.
Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero is back in prison, serving the remainder of a six-year sentence for contempt of court. The Supreme Court has invalidated the presidential pardon that freed him. Then he appeared in court without his saffron robes, wearing prison-issued clothing. Now senior Buddhist prelates have objected, saying the decision to remove a monk’s robes belongs to the Sangha, not prison officials. They also argue that prison rules allow a prisoner to wear the clothes he normally wore before conviction — which, in his case, means robes.
Prison officers escort Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara (centre) back to jail, who is under arrest for intimidating the wife of a missing cartoonist, at the High Court in Colombo October 7, 2026. — AFP pic
