The Chief Magistrate issues a warrant for the arrest of Wimal Weerawansa.

March 13, 2023

The Colombo Chief Magistrate today issued a warrant for the arrest of Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa for not being present in court in connection with a case filed against him by Cinnamon Garden police.

The Cinnamon Garden police alleged that National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa and five others provided leadership to a protest that blocked the main roads at Bauddhaloka Mawatha in 2016, causing disturbance to the people and the normal flow of traffic.

Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa was not present before the court when the case came up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis.

On February 6, 2016, the NFF staged a protest march against the visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Six suspects, including NFF leader and Colombo District MP Wimal Weerawansa, Jayantha Samaraweera, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Piyasiri Wijenayake, Roger Seneviratne, Mohammed Muzammil, and Don Lusian, are currently out on bail. The seventh suspect, Chaminda Jayalal, has been evading court since its inception.