The Matara Magistrate’s Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in connection with the Brown Hill land case, after rejecting submissions about his health.
Magistrate Chathura Dissanayake ordered the warrant when the case was taken up before him. Lawyers appearing for Rajapaksa presented submissions relating to his health condition, but the magistrate dismissed those arguments and proceeded to issue the warrant after he failed to appear in court.
The case has been filed against the former minister and several co-accused, including his wife’s sister Ayoma Galappaththi and her husband Tissa Galappaththi.
According to the allegations, a plot of land in the Brown Hill area of Matara was purchased using funds said to have been misappropriated.
The warrant marks the first active arrest order for Basil Rajapaksa from a Sri Lankan court and opens a new accountability track distinct from the ongoing Malwana property occupation thread, which centres on the same individual but involves student activists rather than criminal proceedings. The former minister has also been linked to ongoing scrutiny of the Rajapaksa family’s assets pursued by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), which separately summoned his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier this month over the SriLankan Airlines Airbus deal.
The Brown Hill case adds Matara — the Rajapaksa political heartland and recent venue of a joint opposition rally — as the courtroom for the latest action.
Friday’s order was made by Magistrate Chathura Dissanayake. The case was reported by NewsFirst correspondent Zulfick Farzan.
