The exit ban on Mahinda and Basil Rajapaksa, as well as former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal and several other government officials, was imposed on July 13 and was initially effective until July 28.
The extension is driven by the fact that former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa are defendants in a probe into the liability of government officials for the economic crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka since 2019, according to news portal Ada Derana.
The Supreme Court ruling was passed at the request of a group of prominent Lankan human rights activists who had previously petitioned the same court to investigate the activities of the two brothers. The activists believe they are culpable for carrying out economic policies that have caused the major economic breakdown in the country's history.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing the worst economic and political crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The recession is primarily attributed to ineffective government policies and foreign exchange shortages caused by a clampdown on tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic. It left the country unable to buy enough fuel, with people facing an acute scarcity of food and basic necessities, heating fuel, and gas. Many regions suffer from power outages.
On July 9, Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, was rocked by thousand-strong protests, caused by public discontent over the government's failure to address the economic meltdown. Few days after the protests erupted, then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dropped his office and fled the country.