Colombo, August 28: Sri Lanka’s former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was granted bail on Tuesday after being arrested last week on charges of misusing state funds, in a case that has triggered political controversy in the crisis-hit island nation.
The Colombo Magistrate Court approved bail on health grounds, local media reported, after Wickremesinghe, 76, appeared via video link from the intensive care unit of Colombo National Hospital, where he has been receiving treatment for high blood pressure and diabetes.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister who was elected president in 2022 after mass protests ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was remanded on Aug. 22 over allegations that he used 16.6 million Sri Lankan rupees ($55,000) in state funds during a private visit to London in 2013. He has denied wrongdoing.
The arrest marked the first time a former head of state in Sri Lanka has been taken into custody and came as President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government intensified a crackdown on corruption. The move has drawn criticism from opposition leaders and past presidents, who called it politically motivated.
“This is an assault on democracy and an act of revenge,” former President Maithripala Sirisena said outside the Colombo court, where Wickremesinghe’s supporters gathered in protest.
Government officials rejected the accusations, with Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala insisting that “everyone is equal before the law.”
Wickremesinghe, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Dissanayake after steering the country through an IMF-backed austerity programme, is credited with helping stabilize Sri Lanka’s economy following its worst financial crisis in decades. His office said he would remain in hospital under medical supervision in the coming days.
