Former Sri Lankan president Rajapaksa moves apex court seeking protection from arrest
Gotabaya Rajapaksa Seeks Supreme Court Safeguard Against Arrest
Bharatmorningnews.com – Former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked the country’s Supreme Court to protect him from a possible arrest under anti-terrorism legislation linked to the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
The application was filed on Friday after the Court of Appeal declined, without conducting a hearing, to entertain an earlier writ petition seeking to prevent the Criminal Investigation Department from taking him into custody. That petition was dismissed on October 1.
The legal move places renewed focus on the long-running inquiry into the coordinated suicide bombings of April 21, 2019, one of the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka’s recent history. Nearly 270 people were killed and more than 500 were injured when attackers struck churches and luxury hotels during Easter celebrations.
Travel Restriction Remains in Place
A Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court imposed a foreign-travel ban on Rajapaksa in June. The restriction applied to the 77-year-old former leader amid the continuing investigation into the Easter Sunday violence and was widely viewed as a significant development in the case.
Rajapaksa then turned to the Court of Appeal, arguing through his lawyers that there was no reasonable basis for the travel restriction in relation to the bombing inquiry. The state did not provide an assurance that he would not be arrested, prompting the former president to pursue further legal protection.
His appeal to the Supreme Court now seeks an order that would stop investigators from arresting him under anti-terrorism laws while the matter is considered. The case concerns potential criminal action rather than a determination of guilt, which would require separate judicial proceedings and evidence tested in court.
A National Tragedy Still Under Scrutiny
The Easter Sunday attacks targeted three Catholic churches and three high-end hotels in Sri Lanka. Nine suicide bombers from National Thawheed Jamaat, a local Islamist extremist organisation with links to ISIS, carried out the coordinated assault.
Those killed included 11 Indian nationals. The attacks deeply affected religious communities, families of victims, tourism workers and others across the island, while also raising lasting questions over whether the disaster could have been prevented.
Prior intelligence warnings had been available before the bombings. The issue of alleged failures to act on those warnings has become central to legal proceedings involving senior officials and to public demands for accountability.
In July, former police chief Pujith Jayasundera and Hemasiri Fernando, who was then the Defence Ministry’s top bureaucrat, were sentenced to death after being found guilty of criminal dereliction of duty. The convictions were connected to their failure to respond to intelligence that could have helped avert the attacks.
Separately, a Sri Lankan court in September convicted 15 people for their involvement in the Easter Sunday suicide bombings. Each was handed a prison sentence exceeding 200 years. Those rulings represented a major stage in the prosecution of individuals accused of participating in the attacks, though wider questions surrounding responsibility and institutional failures have continued to draw attention.
Rajapaksa’s Political Background
Gotabaya Rajapaksa became president in 2019 and remained in office until mid-2022, when widespread anti-government protests forced his resignation. His presidency unfolded during a period marked by severe political and economic turmoil, and his departure ended a turbulent chapter in Sri Lankan politics.
The present court action concerns the Easter Sunday investigation, which predates his presidency but has remained a subject of intense legal, political and public concern throughout the years that followed. The Supreme Court petition is expected to determine whether Rajapaksa can receive protection against arrest as investigators continue their work.
The matter also illustrates the different roles played by Sri Lanka’s courts. A magistrate’s court may issue measures such as travel restrictions, while higher courts can be asked to review alleged violations of legal rights or procedural fairness. The Criminal Investigation Department, meanwhile, is responsible for conducting investigations and deciding whether evidence warrants further action within the legal process.
Corruption Cases Add Pressure on Rajapaksa Family
The former president’s court filing comes amid separate corruption investigations involving members of his family and other prominent former officials.
His wife, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, was arrested on Wednesday in a corruption case alleging the misuse of Sri Lankan rupees 10 million in public funds. During the same period, the country’s anti-graft authority also arrested a former foreign minister and a former state bank chief in unrelated cases.
Namal Rajapaksa, the former president’s nephew, has been held on remand since early September in connection with a corruption case. These proceedings are distinct from the Easter Sunday bombing investigation, but together they have kept the Rajapaksa family at the centre of Sri Lanka’s legal and political landscape.
For survivors of the 2019 attacks and relatives of those who died, the continuing cases carry particular importance because they address both the people directly accused of violence and allegations that officials failed in their responsibilities. The Supreme Court’s consideration of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s request will be closely watched as another significant development in the search for legal accountability over the Easter Sunday tragedy.
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