ByMeera SrinivasanThe Colombo Fort Magistrate Court on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) granted bail to Sri Lanka’s ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was arrested on August 22, 2025, for allegedly misusing state funds. The bail was granted on health grounds following the hearing on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) afternoon, amid tight security around the court, where Mr. Wickremesinghe’s supporters had gathered. Soon after he was remanded in custody on Friday (August 22, 2025), Mr. Wickremesinghe was transferred to the prison hospital and subsequently to the Colombo National Hospital’s intensive care unit, where he has been receiving treatment since. Mr. Wickremesinghe joined the court hearing from the ICU via Zoom, local media reported. Mr. Wickremesinghe was elected to the country’s most powerful office in July 2022 — in an urgent parliamentary vote — after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa was ousted by a citizens’ uprising when the island’s economy crashed.