Sri Lankan Court Grants Bail To Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday granted bail to former president Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was accused of misusing public funds. The meeting was conducted through Zoom after the former president was arrested on Friday last week by the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID), PTI reported. 

He was taken to the main Magazine Remand prison close to midnight on Friday after the Colombo Fort magistrate's court remanded him till August 26. After the arrest, he was admitted to the prison hospital before being transferred to the National Hospital ICU. His health reportedly deteriorated due to dehydration. 

Wickremesinghe joined the proceedings virtually from the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital, amid tight security and protests outside the court premises. The hearing was presided over by Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura. 

Submitting Wickremesinghe's medical reports, Premaratne told the court that three of the four main arteries of the 75-year-old former president’s heart were blocked, his heart tissues had suffered necrosis, and he was also battling a lung infection along with long-standing diabetes.

Several opposition leaders had protested against the arrest. The prison's media spokesperson Jagath Weerasinghe had earlier said that he was unlikely to be produced before the court physically, though arrangements were made for his appearance via Zoom.

The former president has been accused of misusing LKR 16.6 million for funding his private visit to the UK in 2023, where he attended a university convocation of his wife Maithree. He, however, has denied the allegation and claimed that the trip was official as the invitation was extended to the President of Sri Lanka in his capacity as head of state.

Wickremesinghe, who served as President from July 2022 to September 2024 became the first Sri Lankan head of state to be arrested in the country’s post-independence history.

With PTI inputs