Chandrasiri Bandara is a Sri Lankan astrologer. Last week he was arrested by the police and questioned for three days. He is currently in the custody of the country's Criminal Investigation Department. His "crime"? Using astrology to predict the downfall of the government. Yes, really:
Police told the AP news agency that Mr Bandara told an opposition meeting that the prime minister would take over as president on 9 September and the opposition leader would become prime minister.It would be absurd, if someone wasn't in jail for it. But apparently Sri Lanka is so superstitious that they take such "predictions" seriously. In which case you wonder what benefit they see in arresting the predictor...[...]
The astrologer predicted that a planetary change on 8 October will be inauspicious for parliament and the government may not be able to contain rising living costs - a forecast which correspondents say has already been made by private economists.
Back in the Middle Ages, it was treason to cast the monarch's horoscope, as this supposedly gave knowledge of their death. It seems that Sri Lanka is still stuck there.