Sri Lanka Crisis: Supreme Court Bans Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa From Leaving Country Without Permission

Sri Lanka Crisis Latest Updates: As Gotabaya Rajapaksa has already left the country, the Supreme Court on Friday said his 2 brothers Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa can't leave the crisis-hit nation at this time.

Sri Lanka Economic Crisis Latest Updates: Hours after Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation as President of Sri Lanka was formally announced, the Supreme Court on Friday banned his two brothers — former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa — from leaving the country. In the interim order, the top court said Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa cannot leave the country without the court’s permission until July 28. Amid the ongoing crisis in the island nation, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has already left the country, first for the Maldives and then for Singapore.

Earlier, a petition was filed in Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court seeking an interim order restraining former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other influential officials of the Rajapaksa regime from fleeing the country without the prior approval of the apex court.

The case was filed in the apex court as former finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, 71, was turned back at the Colombo airport last week as he attempted to leave the country through the VIP terminal.

Notably, the plea was filed by Sri Lankan swimmer and coach Julian Bolling, former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne, global civil society organisation Transparency International and entrepreneur Jehan Canaga Retna came amidst mounting anger against the powerful Rajapaksa family for mishandling the worst economic crisis in the island nation.