Sri Lanka deports British tourist over Buddha tattoo

Sri Lanka today deported a 37-year- old British woman tourist for sporting a Buddha tattoo, days after she was detained in the Buddhist-majority nation where disrespect of the religion by foreigners is frowned upon.
Naomi Coleman was put on a London-bound SriLankan Airlines flight, officials said.
Prior to her departure, the British nurse said she had been exhausted during her four-day ordeal. She also alleged that she had been sexually harassed during her detention.
Coleman had an image of the Buddha seated on a lotus flower tattooed on her right arm. She insisted that she was a devout Buddhist and the tattoo was out of conviction.

Coleman had arrived at the Colombo International Airport from Mumbai on April 21.
She was produced before the magistrate at Negombo who ordered her to be detained at the immigration detention center before deportation.

Sri Lanka is a Buddhist majority nation and authorities remain sensitive to any disrespect of the religion by foreigners.
Last year, another British tourist was deported for a similar incident.
In 2012, at least three French tourists were handed suspended jail sentences for "inappropriate" behaviour in front of a Buddha statue.
The Asian Human Rights Council (AHRC) was critical of the order on Coleman's jailing and said her deportation should be investigated along with police.

"The magistrate and the policeman involved in this incident including the officer in charge of the relevant police station should be immediately suspended from their positions and brought to an inquiry," AHRC said in a statement.
Sri Lanka should demonstrate that it respects the rights of individuals, the rights organisation said. "To deny hospitality to a tourist and to behave in this ugly manner should not go unpunished," it added.