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print versionSri Lanka Detains British Tourist for Having a Buddha Tattoo
[by] Per Liljas
Arrest is the latest in a series of cases against foreign nationals based on perceived threats to Buddhism
A female British tourist in Sri Lanka has been detained and faces deportation for having a Buddha tattoo on her arm.
The woman was arrested at Colombo’s international airport on Monday upon arrival from India, Agence France-Presse reports.
“She was taken before the Negombo magistrate who ordered her to be detained prior to deportation,†read a police statement.
The charges against the woman were not specified, but in a series of previous cases, Sri Lanka has shown a high sensitivity to perceived threats to Buddhism, the nation’s majority religion.
In March, a British tourist was barred from entering the country for showing “disrespect†by having a Buddha tattooed on his arm; in August 2013, three French tourists received a suspended prison sentence for kissing a Buddha statue; and in 2010, American rap star Akon was prevented for visiting Sri Lanka after featuring skimpily clad women in front of a Buddha statue in one of his music videos.
