The arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday triggered both outcry and praise for the
Wickremesinghe, 76, is the first Sri Lankan former head of state to be arrested.
He has been accused of using around $55,000 in state funds for a stopover in Britain while returning home from a diplomatic trip to Havana and New York in September 2023.
Following his arrest on Friday, the ex-president was taken to Welikada prison in the suburbs of Colombo before being moved to the prison hospital and later the main state-run hospital in the city.
Ruwan Wijewardene, the deputy leader of Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP), told DW Wickremesinghe was currently in the intensive care unit at Colombo General Hospital, having suffered from severe dehydration, diabetes and high blood pressure.
“He’s in stable condition now,” Wijewardene said. “He’s upbeat. He’s been through many challenges in his life, and this is one more challenge that he’s facing up to.”
Wickremesinghe’s next court hearing is scheduled for August 26.
Wickremesinghe gained power in time of crisis
In 2022, Wickremesinghe took office as Sri Lanka’s president, having previously served six stints as prime minister.
The country was going through at the time. Wickremesinghe became president in the wake of monthslong street protests which ousted
Wickremesinghe was credited with stabilizing the crumbling economy, but including raising taxes and utility costs.
In the presidential election held last September, Wickremesinghe lost to
Two months later, giving him a mandate for a strong government.
‘Point of no-return’
Dissanayake’s administration promised to punish those accused of corruption under previous governments.
Over a dozen political leaders of the previous government and ex-high government officials have already been arrested and are under investigation for alleged corruption and malpractice. Even so, Wickremesinghe is the most high-profile politician to be investigated for corruption in Sri Lanka.
“This is the first time that a Sri Lankan head of state, or for that matter, head of government, has been charged in a criminal matter,” said Saliya Pieris, a criminal lawyer and former head of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka.
Pieris told DW he believed Wickremesinghe’s arrest was “crossing the Rubicon” and marked a “point of no return” in Sri Lanka but urged for caution in decisions to arrest and prosecute, saying there was a public perception that “the police do the will of the party in power.”
“The criminal justice system should not be seen by even a section of the public as being a tool of a party in power,” Pieris said. “That is not good for the rule of law.”
In response, Frederick Udayakumara Wootler, a spokesperson for Sri Lanka’s police, told DW the “police will act according to the existing rules, laws in the country.”
‘Political witch hunt’
UNP deputy leader Wijewardene insists that Wickremesinghe had “never misused public funds” and Wickremesinghe’s wife, former First Lady Maithree Wickremesinghe, had paid for her own ticket to travel to the UK, with state money spent only on the then-president’s security.
“There is absolutely no crime here. If President Trump can go to Scotland and Ireland and play golf as the president of the US, it’s the same,” Wijewardene said, adding, “How are you going to interpret what is official and what is not if you are being invited as the president of the country?”
Wijewardene criticized Wickremesinghe’s arrest as a “political witch hunt” by the Dissanayake camp to silence its critics and send “a message to other opposition leaders and opposition members, saying that they too are also quite capable of being arrested on trumped-up charges.”
Jeevan Thondaman, a parliamentarian who previously served as a Cabinet minister in Wickremesinghe’s government, echoed this view.
“It’s a spit on the face of democracy if you ask me,” Thondaman said. “I feel the government shot themselves in the foot because the president has done something nobody else has been able to do — unite the opposition.”
Ex-presidents close ranks with Wickremesinghe
Three former presidents, including Chandrika Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, also expressed solidarity with Wickremesinghe and condemned his incarceration as a “calculated assault” on democracy.
Sri Lanka’s Cabinet spokesperson did not respond to DW’s request for comment.
However, lawyers for the ruling party held a press conference on Sunday, where they said a proper investigation was carried out ahead of the former president’s arrest, and criticized the opposition’s comments about it being politically motivated.
Ambika Satkunanathan, a human rights lawyer and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, told DW politicians had banded together because they “fear they could be next.”
She said Wickremesinghe’s time in prison had shown that the criminal justice system “discriminates against the poor” and “treats the privileged differently” because he had been allowed visitors, health care treatment and home-cooked meals, unlike other prisoners who struggled to access even health care.
Anti-corruption mission
Although some have slammed Wickremesinghe’s arrest, others see it as a sign of the NPP government’s commitment to tackling corruption.
“The current government wants to present itself as a great trailblazer with regard to anti-corruption activities and to demonstrate that no one is above the law,” said Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, the director of the think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Rajni Gamage, a research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, said Wickremesinghe’s arrest may herald similar moves against who face accusations of nepotism, corruption and financial mismanagement.
She believes it’s because the Rajapaksas “may still hold some emotive affinity, particularly for their role in the ‘war victory,’ among segments of the Sinhala Buddhist majority, many of whom voted for the NPP.”
Gamage was referring to between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), popularly known as the
The Rajapaksa brothers were credited for crushing the group and ending the prolonged civil war in 2009.
Gamage warned that the situation could escalate if authorities carry out more arrests.
“If more arrests follow, especially of high-profile political figures, there is a real risk of escalation by these opposition forces. They may attempt to mobilize protests and challenge the government’s ability to maintain order, potentially provoking a response,” she said.
“This could push both sides into a cycle of heightened political confrontation, potentially destabilizing the current political landscape.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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