Former First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa has asked the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court to order that she be released on bail if she is arrested on her return to Sri Lanka, saying she fears being detained at the airport.
The wife of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa filed the anticipatory bail application today (05) while still abroad, Hiru News reported. The application asks that she be granted bail on any conditions the court sees fit in the event of an arrest.
The matter was taken up before Magistrate Janani Perera. It was filed through Attorney-at-Law Jayabalan, names Mary Louise Shiranthi Rajapaksa as the petitioner and cites the Director of the Criminal Investigation Department as the respondent, Newswire reported.
The background is the FCID summons
Rajapaksa had been notified to appear before the Financial Crimes Investigation Division to record a statement. She is currently overseas, where she travelled for medical treatment.
She left for Singapore early on 16 September, flying out of Bandaranaike International Airport a day after being admitted to a private hospital in Colombo. Police had reportedly told her to appear before the FCID on 24 September.
The FCID afterwards said she had gone abroad despite being summoned. A member of the Rajapaksa family disputed that account, saying no summons had reached her before she arrived at the airport and that it was served only once she was there preparing to leave. Our earlier coverage reported that she had not returned to the FCID after travelling to Singapore.
What the investigation concerns
The FCID inquiry centres on the finances of the Siriliya Saviya organisation, an account Rajapaksa headed during her husband’s presidency. She was previously summoned over a CT scanner said to have been bought for the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children.
Not reported
It is not reported when the court will rule on the application, whether a date has been set for the hearing, or when Rajapaksa intends to return to Sri Lanka. Ada Derana’s filing on the case could not be retrieved, as the site has been returning a CloudFront block for 11 days.
