Sri Lanka, Sept. 9 -- "Don't worry, I will control the situation", former President Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters and supporters as he arrived at court in a van full of lawyers and legal aides on August 22. Hours later, local news was flooded with photographs of Wickremesinghe in handcuffs, being escorted by uniformed police officers, and of his silhouette behind the grills of a prison bus.
This marks the first time a former President has been arrested since Sri Lanka introduced the office of the Executive President in 1978. Wickremesinghe is being charged with misuse of public funds during his short stint in the President's office from 2022 to 2024. It is alleged that during an official visit to London in 2023, Wickremesinghe used ...