Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Questions Surrounding His Court Cases
Although Gotabaya Rajapaksa is described as a person responsible for hundreds of crimes in this country, he was never imprisoned. During the so-called “good governance” period of Ranil Sirisena’s government, both family friends and his former classmates provided considerable assistance in preventing him from being imprisoned.
Between 2015 and 2018, during the Yahapalana (“Good Governance”) government, attempts to arrest Gotabaya Rajapaksa in connection with various incidents were repeatedly prevented through court orders. In reality, what the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration did during its period of good governance was to render the cases against the Rajapaksa family ineffective.
During the presidential election campaign, promises to punish the Rajapaksa family and allegations concerning matters such as the murder of Thajudeen were heavily promoted. After the 2015 election victory, various investigations were launched, and cases were filed with technical shortcomings, ultimately allowing those accused to escape conviction.
Although Ranil Wickremesinghe and others created such an environment, Gotabaya, described by the author as a man fearful of facing the law, made every effort to avoid appearing before the courts. The lawyer who assisted him in doing so was Ali Sabry.
In connection with several incidents, including the Avant-Garde case, Gotabaya Rajapaksa filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition seeking an order preventing the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption from arresting him.
The principal legal team representing him included Ali Sabry and Romesh de Silva. In May 2015, the Supreme Court issued an interim order preventing his arrest. Following this, Gotabaya did not appear before the courts in those cases.
Similarly, between 2015 and 2018, there was a significant risk that Gotabaya Rajapaksa could be arrested in connection with investigations into the MiG-27 aircraft deal, the construction of the D. A. Rajapaksa Museum, the murder of journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, and the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.
On each of these occasions, Ali Sabry provided legal assistance while appearing as Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s personal defence counsel, obtaining writ orders and bail orders intended to prevent his arrest.
The article claims that Ali Sabry, who had helped save Gotabaya from imprisonment, was subsequently appointed Minister of Justice after Gotabaya became President.
Through writ orders preventing arrest and Fundamental Rights petitions, the article argues that Gotabaya was able to exploit major gaps in the legal system and ultimately become President in 2019.
Nevertheless, the cases relating to the horrific Easter Sunday attacks proceeded very slowly. Five years later, in an unexpected turn of events, the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa political camp began to fracture, and power was transferred to an ordinary man from Thambuttegama.
Investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks were restarted following the change of government. According to the article, based on the progress of those investigations, Suresh Sallay, whom the article describes as a key conspirator in the Easter attacks, was arrested. Following his arrest, further investigations allegedly revealed a connection to Gotabaya through other individuals.
Subsequently, the court imposed an order preventing Gotabaya and another senior military intelligence officer from leaving the country.
The article says that Gotabaya, having become alarmed and fearful, then filed a petition before the Court of Appeal seeking a writ order and an interim order preventing his arrest or detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
The petition was heard over approximately ten sittings. Today, October 1, 2026, a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising President of the Court of Appeal Justice Rohanta Abeysuriya and Justice Sarath Dissanayake, decided to dismiss the writ petition without proceeding to hear it on its merits.
Following this decision, the article claims that, based on information allegedly revealed concerning Gotabaya, there is now a greater possibility of his arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The article concludes by asking:
What will be the fate of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whom it describes as a coward with a very weak mentality?
If Sallay is the third accused in the case concerning the alleged conspirators behind the Easter Sunday attacks, will Gotabaya be the fourth accused?