Shashi Tharoor Expresses Concern Over Arrest of Former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe

LankaXpress.com – Indian parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha, has voiced concern over the detention of former Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Tharoor described the charges against Wickremesinghe as “trivial” and urged Sri Lanka to “abjure the politics of vengeance” while respecting its internal processes.

“His health issues have already seen him taken to the prison hospital,” Tharoor said, calling on Sri Lankan authorities to treat Wickremesinghe with “the respect and dignity that he deserves after his decades of service to the nation.” The post was accompanied by a photograph of Tharoor with Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe was taken into custody for allegedly misusing government funds after being questioned about a September 2023 visit to London to attend a ceremony for his wife, Maithree, at the University of Wolverhampton. The visit came while he was serving as head of state and was part of a stopover on his return from Havana, where he attended a G77 summit.

Wickremesinghe has maintained that his wife paid for her own travel and that no state funds were used for personal purposes. However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) alleges that Wickremesinghe used government funds for his travel and that the state also covered costs for his security detail during the trip.

Wickremesinghe, who served as Sri Lanka’s president from 2022 to 2024, is currently being held in remand custody and has been admitted to the prison hospital due to health concerns. Tharoor’s remarks come as Sri Lanka faces growing international attention over the case.