Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been remanded in custody until 26 August, following a decision by the Colombo Fort Magistrates’ Court this evening.

He was escorted to Welikada prison in handcuffs by Sri Lankan police officers this evening after his bail application was denied.

The 76-year-old former president has reportedly been admitted into the prison hospital on the advice of doctors.

Sri Lankan politicians across the political spectrum flocked to the Colombo Fort Magistrates’ Court today as former president Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared before proceedings linked to his arrest over the alleged misuse of state funds.

Sri Lanka’s political establishment has been thrown into controversy after opposition MPs questioned how a ruling regime linked YouTuber appeared to predict the arrest of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe in advance.

In a post on X this morning, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) leader Sajith Premadasa described the episode as a blow to public faith in law and order.

Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested after arriving at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Colombo today to record a statement in connection with an ongoing investigation.

The arrest is linked to allegations that Wickremesinghe misused state funds to cover expenses for a private visit to London during his presidency, where he attended a university graduation ceremony of his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

Sri Lanka’s former president Maithripala Sirisena has claimed that the “masmtermind” behind the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings is already well known to the Sri Lankan government, military, and intelligence services, but remains untouchable.

Speaking at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo this week, Sirisena said that while authorities continue to scramble in search of the “so-called mastermind”, the truth is already known at the highest levels.

The iconic Nallur Kandasamy temple in Jaffna has drawn thousands of devotees for its annual chariot festival, ther thiruvizha, today.

Devotees from across the world gathered at the temple to see the temple's primary deity Murugan paraded through the streets of Jaffna.