A priest involved in recent Sri Lankan protests has been granted bail

Father Jeewantha Peiris / Diocese of Ratnapura, Sri Lanka / Facebook

A priest involved in recent protests in Sri Lanka has been granted bail despite being charged with several crimes.

Father Amila Jeewantha Peiris went before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on August 12 and was granted bail with the help of two personal sureties totaling 500,000 Sri Lankan rupees (about $1,375).

The country’s economic problems compelled the Ratnapura diocesan priest, 45 years old, to join protesters in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo.

On July 27, UCA news stated that police raided his parents’ house and St. Joseph’s Church in Balangoda, about 145 kilometres from Colombo.

Fr. Peiris later filed a Fundamental Rights case to avoid his imprisonment with the Supreme Court. The hearing took place on August 9.

During the hearing, it was said that Fr. Peiris was guilty of crimes such as illegal assembly, hindering public personnel from executing their responsibilities, and criminal assault.

Fr. Peiris contended that he had never received a court order, despite claims by government attorneys that he had disobeyed a court order.

In March of 2022, protests against the Sri Lankan government started. Citizens of Sri Lanka have protested the country’s economic crises, which they attribute on the government’s misuse of cash.

In April, Sri Lanka’s bishops asked the government to prevent the nation from becoming a “failed state.”

“All successive governments to date are responsible in varying degrees for the present state of affairs,” the bishops said.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on May 9 in reaction to the demonstrations. On May 12, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa selected Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.

Tens of thousands of protestors stormed the presidential palace buildings in Colombo on July 9, demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign. Later, Rajapaksa departed, and Wickremesinghe was chosen president in his stead.

Although demonstrators eventually decided to cease occupying government facilities, demonstrations and outbursts of violence continue as long as the economic crisis remains.

Amnesty International has commented on the continuing tension in Sri Lanka, saying: “The protesters have a right to demonstrate peacefully.”

“Excessive use of force, intimidation and unlawful arrests seem to be an endlessly repetitive pattern in which the Sri Lankan authorities respond to dissent and peaceful assembly.”

Speaking to the BBC, Fr Peiris echoed these sentiments.

“My only worry is that, with these innocent protests, many youths are brutally arrested and being replaced. For that, I really worry, as I’m worried about the lives of our youth and our people, and they are crying for justice, so for that, I’m worried.”