The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court today issued a warrant for the arrest and production of former Minister and National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa after he failed to appear when a case was called.
The case relates to a protest held near the United Nations office in Thummulla, Colombo, in 2016 during the visit of then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to Sri Lanka. The protesters were accused of obstructing roads and disrupting public and vehicular traffic.
Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the warrant after Weerawansa was absent from court when the proceedings commenced.
However, Weerawansa later appeared before the court.
His lawyer, Manjula Pathiraja, told the court that Weerawansa had been delayed due to a breakdown of his vehicle and requested that the arrest warrant be recalled.
The Chief Magistrate directed the defence to make the request formally through a motion tomorrow. The warrant therefore remained in effect pending the court’s consideration of that motion.
