The Colombo High Court on Thursday (11) rejected an appeal filed by Shashi Weerawansa, the wife of former Minister Wimal Weerawansa, against the sentence imposed on her over the possession of an irregular passport.
Delivering the judgment, Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne affirmed the decision of the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, ruling that the earlier verdict against the appellant would stand. NewsFirst reported the judge framed irregular passport possession as a “serious offence” in oral remarks accompanying the order.
Shashi Weerawansa had been convicted in 2022 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, which sentenced her to two years’ imprisonment alongside a fine of Rs. 100,000 after finding her guilty of the underlying charge. Her appeal sought to overturn both the conviction and the sentence.
The ruling closes off a key procedural avenue in a long-running case that has tracked alongside several other live legal proceedings involving the Weerawansa family. Earlier the same case had been adjourned to July 24, and former Minister Wimal Weerawansa himself faces a separate CIABOC asset-disclosure case at the High Court, arising out of his arrest at the war memorial in May. His personal driver Sarath Weerawansa is also subject to a separate vehicle-misuse travel ban, and his former media secretary Prasad Manju was arrested by FCID in early June.
