RIGHTS • ANALYSIS • 19 SEPTEMBER 2026

Equal justice means equal rights — including for the Rajapaksa family

Investigations of powerful political families can be legitimate and necessary. But accountability loses credibility when arrest, remand or investigation is treated as proof of guilt, or when the public begins to believe that justice changes with the government of the day.

Sri Lanka is again confronting difficult questions about political accountability. Namal Rajapaksa has been remanded while facing a money-laundering case. That is a legal process, not a conviction. The presumption of innocence and the right to a fair hearing apply to him exactly as they apply to every other Sri Lankan.

Accountability and due process are not opposites

Public officials and their families are not above the law. Credible allegations should be investigated, evidence should be tested and courts should be allowed to work independently. The same principle also means that an unpopular surname, a change of government or public anger cannot substitute for evidence.

Human Rights Watch reported this month that Sri Lanka continues to struggle with longstanding failures of accountability and political interference in justice processes. Its criticism spans successive governments and includes serious allegations concerning abuses by state forces and the LTTE during the civil war. That history is precisely why consistent legal standards matter now.

The question for the present government

The Dissanayake administration should be able to demonstrate that investigations are evidence-led, institutions are independent and defendants receive the same procedural protections regardless of political affiliation. Opposition politicians, in turn, should not describe every investigation as persecution without addressing the evidence presented through lawful proceedings.

Lanka Witness does not ask that any politician be protected from investigation. We ask for something more durable: one standard of justice. If evidence establishes criminal conduct, courts should act. If it does not, political reputation should not be destroyed by allegation alone.

What international partners should watch

Australia, the United Nations and other partners engaging Sri Lanka on governance can consistently support judicial independence, witness protection, due process and accountability for abuses by all sides. Those principles should not depend on which party holds office or which family is under investigation.