Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s travel request to be considered on humanitarian grounds
Gotabaya Rajapaksa | Photo enhanced using AI for clarity – (Image credit: Courtesy of the respective owners)
A request to lift former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s overseas travel ban could be considered on humanitarian grounds, Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told the Fort Magistrate’s Court today (October 21).
Peiris noted that Rajapaksa has not been named a suspect in the investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks.
The case relating to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigation into the Easter Sunday attacks, which took place on April 21, 2019, was taken up before Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena.
During the hearing, the Magistrate sought clarification from the prosecution regarding a motion filed by Rajapaksa’s lawyers last Thursday (October 15), requesting permission for him to travel abroad for medical treatment following surgery at a hospital in Singapore.
Additional Solicitor General Peiris told the court that the motion, signed by Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijewardena, had been received by the Attorney General’s Department and the CID.
He said he had verbally informed the CID to consider the matter on humanitarian grounds, noting that many people in Sri Lanka cannot afford medical treatment.
However, the Magistrate informed the court that the court registrar had rejected the motion because it contained several shortcomings.
On June 3, 2026, Colombo Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena imposed the travel ban on Rajapaksa and two military officers after considering a request made by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The CID is conducting investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks, and the court also imposed overseas travel restrictions on former Army Colonel Mohamed Ansar and former intelligence officer Premananda Udalagama.
The case is linked to the ongoing investigation into the attacks, in which former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director and retired Major General Suresh Sallay has been named a suspect.
He is being held at the CID under a detention order for questioning.