Former president Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested and accused of using around $55,000 in state funds for a stopover in Britain after a diplomatic trip to Havana and New York in September 2023. He was taken to Welikada prison, moved to the prison hospital and then transferred to Colombo's main state-run hospital. He was reported in intensive care at Colombo General Hospital with severe dehydration, diabetes and high blood pressure but described as stable. Wickremesinghe became president in 2022 during economic upheaval, implemented austerity measures, and lost the September presidential election to Anura Kumara Dissanayake, whose NPP later won a parliamentary landslide. The next court hearing is set for August 26.
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.
In 2022, Wickremesinghe took office as Sri Lanka's president, having previously served six stints as prime minister. The country was going through massive economic upheaval at the time. Wickremesinghe became president in the wake of monthslong street protests which ousted the then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Wickremesinghe was credited with stabilizing the crumbling economy, but faced public backlash over stringent austerity measures, including raising taxes and utility costs.
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