File photo.
56 religious priests are in prison on charges of murder, rape, serious sexual abuse, money fraud, and treasure digging in Sri Lanka according to the State Minister for Judicial Prisons and Constitutional Reforms.
He revealed the numbers to parliament on the 7th of August.
34 of them have been convicted for the aforementioned crimes. 29 of them are Buddhist Monks.
In addition to this three Hindu priests and two Islamic priests are among the convicted.
Among the remanded priests too majority are Buddhist monks numbering 19. In addition to this, a Catholic priest and an Islamic priest are also included are among the remandees.
19 Buddhist priests have been convicted of child abuse. 4 more Buddhist monks are in remand for the crime. The number of Hindu priests is one.
Meanwhile, three Buddhist priests are serving sentences in prisons for rape. In addition, another Buddhist monk is in prison as a suspect for rape.
In addition, two Buddhist monks are serving prison sentences for murder. Another Buddhist monk is in remand for the same charge.
Two Buddhist priests are serving prison sentences for serious sexual abuse and one Buddhist monk for raping minor girls.
Only a handful of cases are reported to the authorities of sexual harassment in temples and churches. Recently two famous Buddhist monks were accused of sexual abuse on video, but both of them are at large.