Ex-Sri Lankan leader bailed as supporters oppose arrest
A Sri Lanka Court released former president Ranil Wickremetinghe on bail after being arrested for allegations of abuse of public funds while he was in office.
Wickremesinghe, who was arrested on Friday, is accused of using public funds to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony in London after an official visit to Cuba and the United States in 2023.
Danushka Ramanayake, the assistant of the senior opposition politician, said that on Tuesday he heard that Wickremesyinge of the Magistrate’s Court in Colombo was given guarantee. There were no more details immediately.
During the hearing, thousands of Wickremesinghe’s supporters went to the streets to protest the arrest, and President Anura Gamara called a political witch hunt by the Dissanayake government.
Some protesters in black clothes shook black flags and shouted slogans condemning the arrest and asking for release immediately.
A protester, 69 -year -old Samarasiri Kuruwitaarachchi, said the government could not give the promises to the public in last year’s elections and now “trying to hunt political opponents”.
“We condemn the arrest of Wickremetinghe, who has done a lot for the country,” Kuruwitaarachchi said. He said. “We gathered here to demand justice for him.”
After the hearing was concluded, WickREMEINGHE applauded supporters and danced on the street.
The arrest of Wickremesinghe was criticized by opposition deputies and politicians who claimed to have weakened the country’s democracy.
Minister of Transport and Highways Bimal Rathnayake rejected the charges against the government and said that the arrest of Wickremesinghe was not a political revenge, but in accordance with the laws of the country.
He told the local media on Monday that the government was authorized to investigate the alleged wrong practices of previous governments and that the law would be applied equally.
Wickremesinghe is the first leading leader under the investigation of corruption under the direction of Dissanayake, who came to power on the fight against corruption last year.
More than a dozen former high government official and political leader, under the investigation of injustice.
Wickremesinghe’s party responded to the allegations by saying that he had attended the graduation ceremony with an invitation in his official capacity.
The former president was currently in the intensive care unit at Colombo National Hospital and did not attend the court hearing.
WickREMEINGHE was hospitalized on Saturday after having experienced dehydration and relevant health complications. Facility Director Pradeep Wijinghe, the media on Monday, said the situation shows some stability.
After Sri Lanka’s economic uprising, Wickremegghe, who led President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign in 2022, was credited to balance the crumbled economy.
Under its leadership, inflation fell, the local currency strengthened and the external reserves increased. However, he reacted to a public reaction to his government’s strict arco squeezing measures.
