Pastor Jerome remanded

Pastor Jerome Fernando has been remanded until December 13 over his controversial remarks on several religions.

The self-styled ‘prophet’ was produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate this afternoon following his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a few hours after he arrived at the premises to record a statement for the second consecutive day.

Fernando made his first appearance at the CID last morning (30 Nov.) and provided a statement for around 08 hours.

He found himself in hot water after a video of one of his sermons went viral on social media, due to allegations that it included derogatory statements related to Lord Buddha and other religious figures.

Fernando then flew out to Singapore on 14 May, two days before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court banned his foreign travels.

After months of controversy over his remarks, Fernando returned to the island on Wednesday morning (Nov.29). He had arrived from Singapore on board a Qatar Airlines flight and left the airport through the Gold Route at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

As per a court directive, the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division obtained a statement from the pastor within 48 hours of his arrival on the island.

On November 17, the Court of Appeal ordered the CID not to arrest Pastor Fernando upon his arrival in the country. The ruling also mentioned Pastor Jerome should record a statement with the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division within 48 hours of his arrival. This interim order was issued in respect of the petition filed by Pastor Fernando, seeking to prevent the CID from arresting him.