SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri released on bail pending appeal against prison sentence

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Badulla District MP Chaminda Wijesiri, who was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for assaulting police officers and threatening them with death, was released on bail today (August 24) pending an appeal.

The Badulla High Court ordered his release after considering a bail application filed through his lawyers against the sentence imposed on him.

Accordingly, Wijesiri was released on a cash bail of Rs. 50,000 and two personal sureties of Rs. 1 million each.

The court also imposed a travel ban, preventing him from leaving Sri Lanka without prior permission from the court.

Wijesiri was sentenced to one and a half years in prison by Badulla High Court Judge Jeyaram Trotsky on July 28, 2026, after being found guilty of assaulting police officers, wrongfully restraining them and threatening to kill them.

The case had been filed against Wijesiri, his driver Bandula Ratnayake and Ministerial Security Division police officer Rasika Karunathilake over several charges, including wrongfully restraining and threatening two police officers.

The court found Wijesiri and Ratnayake guilty of four charges, while Karunathilake was found guilty of three charges. However, it was revealed during the court proceedings that Ratnayake had died.

The case related to an incident that followed an alleged argument near the roundabout in Bandarawela town on the afternoon of February 10, 2019, or around that date.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Wijesiri and the other accused had been travelling in jeeps when a police jeep allegedly overtook the MP’s vehicle, leading to the argument.