A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday ordered authorities to take necessary steps to obtain an Interpol Red Notice against former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa in connection with the alleged misuse of funds belonging to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.
The Fort Magistrate’s Court asked that warrants be issued for the arrest of 71-year-old Rajapaksa in English and Sinhala following submissions made in court over an alleged misappropriation of public funds in 2014.
The orders against Rajapaksa, the younger brother of former presidents Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, were issued following submissions made by the CID regarding the ongoing investigation.
The case relates to allegations that Sri Lankan Rupee 7.8 million allocated to the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau in 2014 was misused to provide 12,000 T-shirts for the Uva Provincial Council election, instead of being spent on the Bureau’s promotional activities.
The Rajapaksa family is currently facing a spate of court cases for alleged illegal transactions while in government.
The heir to the Rajapaksa political dynasty, Namal Rajapaksa, continues to be in remand since September 4, as bail was refused by the court on several hearings thereafter.
Namal’s mother Shiranthi Rajapaksa was arrested last week and is in remand till October 16.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president between 2019-22, has filed an action in court to prevent him from being arrested over the 2019 Easter Sunday investigations.
Namal's cousins Shasheendra and Shamindra Rajapaksa have faced litigation over other accusations, while their father Chamal, the former parliamentary speaker, was also questioned over a different case of alleged corruption.
Addressing a public rally at Nikaweratiya in northwestern Sri Lanka on Sunday, President Dissanayake said the law will be applied to everyone equally.
“Those who gained social power, political power and positional power used those powers to be above the law. But, under this government, the law is equal for everyone,” he said.
“If anyone believes that the law will not reach them, we are now proving that there is no place where law cannot reach and no one is beyond its reach,” he added.
But SLPP’s Kariyawasam accused the government of misleading the people.
“We don’t have any problem with thieves being punished after proving their wrongdoings,” he told Al Jazeera.
“But the government is taking people to custody without any court trials, and then tells the people that they punish thieves. This is purely a political witch-hunt.”
Researcher Perera said the demand for accountability in corruption cases was the main slogan that brought Dissanayake to power.
“As action against corruption is at the core of the NPP government’s mandate, what is happening now should be seen as an attempt to enforce that mandate,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to Dissanayake’s National People’s Power party.
Political analyst Gamini Viyangoda also rejected Kariyawasam’s claim. “This is not a political witch-hunt, but implementing the rule of law.”