August 24, Colombo (LNW): Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Parliamentarian Chaminda Wijesiri has been released on bail after the Badulla High Court considered an appeal against the one-and-a-half-year prison term imposed on him over a 2019 confrontation involving two police officers.
Wijesiri was sentenced on 28 July 2026 after being found guilty of offences including wrongful restraint, assault, causing injuries and threatening the lives of the two officers during the incident.
The case originated from an altercation reported near the Bandarawela town roundabout in February 2019. According to the prosecution, trouble began after a police jeep overtook a vehicle carrying the MP and several others.
It was alleged that Wijesiri and members of his group subsequently blocked the police vehicle, confronted the officers and threatened them before an assault took place. The two policemen were said to have sustained injuries during the incident.
The prosecution had brought the case against Wijesiri, his driver Bandula Rathnayake and Rasika Karunathilaka, a police officer attached to the Ministerial Security Division.
The High Court previously convicted Wijesiri and Rathnayake on four charges, while Karunathilaka was found guilty on three counts. During the proceedings, however, the court was informed that Rathnayake had died.
Wijesiri subsequently challenged the prison sentence through an appeal, which was considered by the Badulla High Court before bail was granted.
The latest development means the MP will remain out of custody while the legal process surrounding his appeal continues. The case stems from an incident that took place more than seven years ago and has remained before the courts through several stages of proceedings.