Sri Lankan Court Gives French Tourists Suspended Sentence For Offensive Photo With Buddha

BBC News reported on Tuesday that in Sri Lanka, three French tourists were given suspended jail sentences after they were photographed posing with Buddha statues and pretending to kiss one of the statues. They were apparently charged under Sec. 290A of the country’s Penal Code which provides:

Whoever does any act, in or upon, or in the vicinity of, any place of worship or any object which is held sacred with intent to or in veneration by any class of persons, with the intention wounding the religious feelings of any class of persons or with the knowledge that any class of persons is likely to consider such act as an insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Police in the town of Galle arrested the tourists after a photo lab where they had taken the pictures to be printed alerted authorities.