A British tourist is to be deported from Sri Lanka because of a Buddha tattoo on her arm.
Michelle Coleman flew to Sri Lanka from India and was arrested at the airport after authorities noticed her ltus flower and Buddha tattoo, and is now being held at an immigration detention camp until she is deported back to the UK.
Her tattoo was perceived as an insult to Buddhism, the religion followed by the majority of the island nation.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns against “mistreatment” of Buddhist imagery, saying:
Don’t pose for photographs by standing in front of a statue of Buddha. The mistreatment of Buddhist images and artefacts is a serious offence and tourists have been convicted for this. In March 2013, a British national was refused entry to Sri Lanka because he had a large visible tattoo of Buddha on his arm.
