Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently under observation at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Hospital in Colombo, is unlikely to be produced in person before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court today due to his health condition, Prisons Spokesman said.
Wickremesinghe, who became the first Executive President of Sri Lanka to be arrested and remanded, was ordered into custody until August 26 following his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on August 22.
He was initially admitted to the Prison Hospital and later transferred to the National Hospital on medical advice after doctors diagnosed him with dehydration. The transfer was recommended by Prison Hospital doctors following further examinations.
The former President was arrested over allegations of misusing government funds during a September 2023 visit to the United Kingdom, where he accompanied his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe, for a ceremony at the University of Wolverhampton. He had stopped in London on his return from Havana, where he attended the G77 summit.
While Wickremesinghe has insisted that no state funds were used and that his wife bore her own expenses, the CID alleged that state funds were misused for his travel and that the government had also borne the costs of his security detail.
He was produced before Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura last week, who ordered his remand custody until August 26 under the Public Property Act.
