Sri Lanka Court Slaps Overseas Travel Ban on Six Anti-Government Protesters

The six persons were part of the anti-government protests, which led to the removal of the Rajapaksa family.

Protesters shouted anti-government slogans outside president's office as the Parliament voted to elect the new president in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, 20 July. Representational image.

(Photo: PTI)

A magistrate court in Sri Lanka’s Colombo on Monday, 25 July, slapped an overseas travel ban on six protesters who had been leading the anti-government demonstrations at the Galle Face in Colombo for months against the Sri Lankan government's mishandling of the worst economic crisis in the country's history.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court issued the overseas travel ban on activists including Ceylon Teachers’ Union General- Secretary Joseph Stalin, Catholic priest Fr Jeewantha Peiris, Convener of the Inter-University Students’ Federation Wasantha Mudalige, the national organizer of ‘Youth for Change’ Lahiru Weerasekera, and Eranga Gunasekera.

The six persons were part of the anti-government protests since early April, which led to the removal of the erstwhile powerful Rajapaksa family from all positions of power in the country, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, on 17 June, the Colombo Fort Magistrate had ordered the Police to arrest several protesters for their unruly and violent behaviour during demonstrations at Colombo Fort and Thalangama on 9 and 10 June and to produce them before the court, Newswire reported.

The suspects were remanded over several charges, including criminal coercion, obstruction of duties of police officers, unlawful assembly, causing injuries, and causing damages to public property.

Meanwhile, the police on Monday said they arrested three people for stealing items from the President's House, which was earlier occupied by the protesters on 9 July.

Archaeologists had earlier visited the site for inspection for the fear of artifacts being either stolen or damaged.

A mass protest on 9 July stormed the President's House, forcing the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and send in his resignation from Singapore.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, a key ally of Rajapaksa, was on 20 July sworn in as the country's new president, a decision that calm down the protesters.

Protesters have blamed Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe for mismanaging the economy that has left the country's 22 million people struggling to buy fuel, food, and basic necessities.

Further, President Wickremesinghe has said that though he would extend support to peaceful protesters, he would be tough on those trying to promote violence under the guise of peaceful protests.

(With inputs from Newswire and PTI.)