Wimal Weerawansa arrives in court after arrest warrant issued

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today issued a warrant to arrest and produce before court former Minister and leader of the National Freedom Front (NFF), Wimal Weerawansa, after he failed to appear for proceedings.

Weerawansa had been summoned as a suspect in connection with a 2016 protest staged during the visit of former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Al Hussein to Sri Lanka, where demonstrators obstructed roads around the United Nations office at Thummulla, Colombo.

His lawyer, Manjula Pathiraja, explained that his client had been delayed because of a breakdown in his vehicle, preventing him from arriving on time. The lawyer requested that the warrant be recalled.

Chief Magistrate Bodaragama noted that such a request must be made through a formal motion tomorrow, leaving the warrant technically in place until then.