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Bathiudeen granted bail

Published

5 years ago

2020/11/26

Former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen was released on bail by the Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Fort Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage released Bathiudeen on cash bail of Rs. 100,000 with two sureties of one million rupees each.

The Magistrate also imposed a travel ban on Bathiudeen and said that the guarantors should be his close relatives.

The Magistrate granted bail to the MP considering the risk of him contracting COVID-19 as two inmates in cells next to his had recently tested positive for coronavirus.

Bathiudeen was remanded in connection with alleged misappropriation of public funds during the last presidential election to transport voters.

The former minister has been accused of misusing 222 buses owned by the SLTB for transporting internally displaced persons from Puttalam to polling stations in Silavathurai, Mannar during the 2019 Presidential Election. Two others, Mohamed Yaseen Samsudeen and Alagarathnam Manoranjan face the same charges.

They have allegedly violated Article 82(1) of Presidential Elections Act, No. 15 of 1981 by misappropriating public funds amounting to Rs. 9.5 million.

Bathiudeen was arrested at an apartment complex at Ebenezer Place in Dehiwala in the early hours of October 19. He was then produced before the court and placed under remand custody. His bail application was also rejected by the magistrate’s court on several occasions

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Minister of Health of the Russian Federation attends the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum

Published

59 mins ago

2026/05/5

Priyan

Mikhail Murashko, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, officially visited the Russian House in Colombo to attend the Sri Lanka–Russia Medical Forum, where members of the Sri Lanka Russia Business Council and graduates from the Association of Sri Lankan Graduates from Socialist countries (ASLGSC) attended.

This historic gathering was graced by rectors and representatives from several world-class Russian medical institutions, including Kursk State Medical University, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, and Tver State Medical University, among others.

The forum commenced with an address by Minister Murashko, during which Russian medical graduates in attendance raised pertinent questions regarding medical and pharmaceutical sector opportunities in Sri Lanka.

Levan Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, together with Madam Maria L. Popova, Counsellor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka & the Maldives and Director of the Russian House in Colombo, graced the occasion. Both officials expressed strong support for continued collaboration and future initiatives between the two nations.

News

Members of Sri Lanka Cricket Transformation Committee Officially Appointed

Published

9 hours ago

2026/05/5

Priyan

The official appointment letters for the members of the newly established “Cricket Transformation Committee” (CTC) were handed over on Monday (04) by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Sunil Kumara Gamage.

The following members received their letters of appointment at the Ministry premises:

Sidath Wettimuny
Thushira Radella
Prakash Schaffter
Ms. Avanthi Colombage

The Ministry also noted that veteran cricketers Roshan Mahanama and Kumar Sangakkara, who are key members of the committee, are currently overseas. Their official appointments will be formalised immediately upon their arrival in Sri Lanka.

The Cricket Transformation Committee has been mandated to oversee the administration and drive structural reforms within Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in accordance with the powers vested in the Minister under the Sports Act No. 25 of 1973.