(26 Aug 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colombo, Sri Lanka – 26 August 2025
1. Various of supporters of Sri Lanka’s ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe cheering in the street shouting slogans after he was granted bail
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Chandima Weerakkody, Lawyer, former Minister:
“ [Ex] President Ranil Wickremesinghe who was incarcerated due to government pressure was granted bail by the independent judiciary of Sri Lanka. We must be thankful and grateful to judiciary for trying to protect, for taking actions and steps to protect democracy. You can see hundreds of thousands of people gathering to Colombo.”
3. Wide of security personnel standing guard
4. Mid of lawyers walking
5. Mid of security personnel in vehicle passing
6. Mid of supporters gathered on streets
STORYLINE:
A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday released the former president Ranil Wickremesinghe on bail after he was arrested over allegations of misusing public funds while in office.
Wickremesinghe, who was arrested Friday, is accused of using public funds to attend his wife’s graduation ceremony in London after an official visit to Cuba and the United States in 2023.
During the hearing, thousands of Wickremesinghe’s supporters took to the streets to protest his arrest, calling it a political witch-hunt by the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
After the hearing concluded, supporters of Wickremesinghe cheered and danced in the street.
Wickremesinghe’s arrest has been criticized by opposition lawmakers and politicians who claim it undermines the country’s democracy.
Chandima Weerakkody, a lawyer and former minister said "hundreds of thousands of people are gathering to Colombo".
“We must be thankful and grateful to judiciary for trying to protect, for taking actions and steps to protect democracy," Weerakkody said.
Wickremesinghe is the first Sri Lankan former head of state to be arrested and the most prominent leader under investigation for corruption under Dissanayake, who came to power last year on an anti-corruption platform.
More than a dozen former high government officials and political leaders are under investigation for alleged wrongdoing.
The former president is currently in intensive care at the Colombo National Hospital and did not attend the court hearing, which he joined remotely.
Wickremesinghe was admitted to hospital on Saturday after experiencing dehydration and related health complications.
Wickremesinghe, who came to power after Sri Lanka’s economic upheaval led to a political crisis that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign in 2022, has been credited with stabilizing the crumbling economy. Under his leadership, inflation fell, the local currency strengthened and foreign reserves increased. But he faced a public backlash over his government’s stringent austerity measures.
AP Video by Jay Palipane.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/4310b7b790814a6b8fa81532b2cf4941
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in August 31, 2025, 3:06 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
