Outgoing Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to his country in the early hours of Saturday (local time), less than two months after fleeing it following a wave of mass protests that rocked the island last July.
The former president fled the country on July 13, four days after tens of thousands of angry protesters stormed his official residence under a severe economic crisis that caused food and fuel shortages.
According to officials, Rajapaksa returned to Sri Lanka via Singapore, to which he had fled before moving to Thailand, where he had been residing on a temporary visa since last August 11, and arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, 30 km north of the capital, Colombo, and moved away from the runway at Tight security was kept.
A senior official in the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense had previously told Agence France-Presse that Rajapaksa "is staying in a Thai hotel like a prisoner and is willing to return."
He explained that Rajapaksa had a visa that allowed him to stay in Thailand for 90 days.
But he chose to return with his wife, bodyguard and another assistant.
Prior to his arrival in the country, human rights defenders had welcomed his return and said they would work to have him arrested "for the crimes he committed", and spokesman for the Sri Lankan Youth Journalists Association Tharindo Jayawardana told AFP that they would "be able to bring him to justice".
Rajapaksa, who was elected in 2019 with a promise of "prospects of prosperity", gradually declined as the country's economic crisis worsened, before fleeing on July 13 following a wave of mass protests.
Sri Lanka is currently led by Ranil Wickremesinghe, 74, who was sworn in as the country's new president on July 21, and Wickremesinghe is scheduled to complete the remainder of Rajapaksa's term, which was scheduled to last until November 2024. .
Sri Lanka, with a population of 22 million, is mired in a severe financial crisis that has paralyzed the country, and the depletion of foreign exchange has led to shortages of essential goods including fuel, food and medicine.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its external debt of $51 billion in mid-April, and the International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday conditional assistance to Sri Lanka with a $2.9 billion rescue plan over four years to correct its financial situation.