Sri Lanka’s Ex-President Wickremesinghe Admitted To Hospital

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former president of Sri Lanka, was taken to a prison hospital after a court denied him bail after he was arrested for allegedly misusing public funds while in office.

According to PTI, Wickremesinghe, 76, was remanded till August 26 by the Colombo Fort magistrate's court and transported to the main Magazine Remand prison just before midnight on Friday.

Jail spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe stated on Saturday that he was admitted to the jail hospital due to elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

The former president was taken into custody at the Criminal Inquiry Department (CID) headquarters on Friday after being asked to make a statement as part of an inquiry into the purported misappropriation of 16.6 million Sri Lankan rupees in government funds.

The seasoned opposition leader was then taken to the magistrate's court at Colombo Fort.

PTI reported that he was accused by the CID in accordance with Sections 5(1) of the Public Properties Act and Sections 386 and 388 of the Penal Code.  The penalties for the charges are a minimum of one year and a maximum of twenty years in prison.

Following a drawn-out hearing that lasted more than six hours, Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura remanded him and declared that the defence attorneys had not presented any unique arguments that would have allowed the court to release the former president on bond.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is among the many former opponents and colleagues who have visited Wickremesinghe.

“He was in good spirits and appeared normal.” Rajapaksa, 80, told reporters, "He understands that being remanded is part of politics and one's fate as a politician."

"I visited him and spoke to him," said Sajith Premadasa, the primary opposition leader and one of Wickremesinghe's fiercest opponents.  “He was fine”, he said. 

Wickremesinghe's request to have meals prepared at home was granted, according to prison officials.

Wickremesinghe, who was president from 2022 to 2024, has been charged with using public funds to fly to England in September 2023 to attend his wife Prof. Maithree's convocation ceremony.

The former President allegedly travelled to the UK on state funding to attend his wife's private engagement while on his way back from an official engagement in the US.

His employees had already been questioned by the CID on the trip costs.

Wickremesinghe was given credit for guiding Sri Lanka out of the 2022 economic crisis after succeeding Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president for the remainder of his tenure until the end of 2024.