Muslim cleric wanted for airing extremist views arrested by Lankan authorities

A 47-year old Muslim cleric wanted by the Sri Lankan security forces for using social media platform to air extremist views has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport, a media report said.

The cleric, whose identity has not been disclosed, was wanted for releasing videos in a manner that harms reconciliation in the country and has been remanded till May 14, the Daily Mirror reported.

The suspect, a resident of Vavuniya, was arrested on Saturday at the airport after his arrival from Mecca after performing Hajj.

The suspect had been organising pilgrimage tours to Mecca, the paper reported.

The arrest of the cleric came days after the Sri Lankan government said the trustees of all the mosques in the country should not engage in or allow any gathering to promote or propagate hatred and also directed them to send the audio recordings of the sermons to authorities.

The government's order was after security forces recovered swords and other weapons from mosques during search