Wife of former Govt. heavyweight Wimal Weerawansa gets two years in prison
COLOMBO – A court in Colombo sentenced Sashi Weerawansa, wife of the once powerful former industries minister Wimal Weerawansa, to two years in prison on Friday (27), for violating immigration laws and fraudulently obtaining two passports. She was also fined Rs 100,000 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court, warning failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months in prison.
The court also issued an order to hand over a copy of the verdict to the Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, to take action against state officials who had assisted Shashi Weerawansa to obtain the passports.
Reports said Weerawansa has challenged the court decision and submitted an appeal through her lawyers. The appeal is set to be taken up for consideration on Monday (30). However, she will remain in remand custody until the appeal hearing.
The wife of the former minister is accused of fraudulently obtaining two passports, including a diplomatic passport, by submitting forged documents with falsified personal information including names and dates of birth, to the Department of Immigration and Emigration. She was arrested in February 2015 but was released on bail.
Wimal Weerawansa, a key ally of former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, was sacked by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in March 2022, after which he, together with his colleague and former energy minister, Udaya Gammanpila, formed an unofficial alliance of 10 independent groups in Parliament opposed to Rajapaksa.
The MP is known to be a firebrand speaker whose oratory and nationalist rhetoric drew swathes of support to both Rajapaksas over the years.
He once served as propaganda secretary of the opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, which he quit under controversial circumstances to form the National Freedom Front (NFF) which he now leads.
-ENCL/EN