The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has issued an order prohibiting the departure of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Minister Basil Rajapaksa until July 28, 2022.
The court granted the interim relief after hearing the petition filed by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and three others against the two politicians today.
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank W.D. Lakshman, former Governor of the Central Bank Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and former Finance Ministry Secretary S.R. Attygalle are prohibited from leaving Sri Lanka without the court’s permission until the 28th of July, according to the TISL.
The case is to be supported for full permission to proceed on July 27, according to the TISL.
As interim measures during the pendency of the case, a petition in the public interest was filed on June 17 requesting that the court restrict the international travel of six respondents, including former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, and former Secretary of the Treasury S.R. Attygala.
The petition by TISL, Chandra Jayaratne, Jehan CanagaRetna, and Julian Bolling asserts that the petition’s respondents are directly responsible for Sri Lanka’s unsustainable foreign debt, and its default on foreign loans repayments, and its current economic state.
The petition requests that the respondents be held accountable for their illegal, arbitrary, and unreasonable actions or omissions that precipitated the current economic crisis.
