Court revokes travel ban on Pastor Jerome Fernando

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda  

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday lifted the travel ban imposed on Pastor Jerome Fernando.  
Earlier, the court had imposed the travel ban as a bail condition in connection with the magisterial inquiry into his controversial Sunday sermon.  
The defence counsel representing Pastor Jerome Fernando requested the court to lift the travel ban, stating that his client frequently needs to travel abroad for religious sermons. Taking the facts into consideration, Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura ordered the revocation of the travel ban imposed on the suspect and further directed that this order be communicated to the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration.   It is alleged that, on or about April 30, 2023, Jerome Fernando had addressed a large gathering of people and made numerous statements that are derogatory of other religions, specifically of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.