Colombo: A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered the lifting of an overseas travel ban on former president and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.
In May last year, the Fort Magistrates Court charged Rajapaksa, 77, and a dozen other politicians under investigation for their involvement in a deadly attack on peaceful anti-government protesters in Colombo. Rajapaksa and a dozen other politicians imposed an overseas travel ban.
Violence in May killed at least nine people and injured more than 300.
Overseas travel ban on ex-president Rajapaksa, MP Roshita
Abeygunawardena, minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi and former provincial council member Kanchana Jayaratne were all dismissed by the Fort District Court on Wednesday, newsfirst.lk reported.
Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage ordered the court clerk to convey the order immediately to the Director-General of Immigration and Immigration. The seized passports were ordered to be returned to four politicians, the Daily Mirror reported.
Last year, amid Sri Lanka’s unprecedented economic crisis, supporters of then-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked anti-government protesters, unleashing a wave of spontaneous violence that enraged the homes and offices of some Sri Lankan lawmakers .
The protesters demanded the resignation of Rajapaksa’s younger brother, then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Hours later, Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned and a nationwide curfew was imposed.
Rajapaksa, known for his brutal military campaign against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during his presidency from 2005 to 2015, had his private residence set on fire.
He, his wife and family fled his official residence, Temple Trees, and took refuge at the naval base in Trincomalee after a series of deadly attacks on his supporters.
The economic and political turmoil also led to the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 73-year-old brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in July.
The powerful Rajapaksa family, headed by patriarch Mahinda Mahinda, ruled Sri Lankan politics for decades until forced to resign last year.
This post was last modified on May 17, 2023 at 7:14pm
