• Sri Lanka's ex-president Ranil Wickremesinghe hospitalized due to dehydration after an arrest.
• Wickremesinghe faces allegations of misusing funds for a foreign trip.
• Political tensions rise as opposition claims government fears his return to power.

Sri Lanka's jailed former president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, was rushed to intensive care at a state hospital on Saturday after being charged with misusing government funds for foreign travel. The 76-year-old politician was remanded in custody on Friday night and was reported to be severely dehydrated, requiring close monitoring at the Colombo National Hospital. According to Deputy Director-General Rukshan Bellana, "He has to be closely observed and treated for acute dehydration to prevent serious complications," adding that his condition was "stable" despite significant health issues including diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Dawn, South China Morning Post, and India Times.

Wickremesinghe was arrested as part of a campaign against corruption led by current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, amid allegations that he misused public funds for a personal trip to the UK in September 2023. The legal ramifications could lead to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and significant financial penalties, detailed reports suggest, including estimates of misappropriated funds exceeding Rs 16.6 million ($55,000). His travel was ostensibly to support his wife's honorary professorship at the University of Wolverhampton, which he contends was funded personally without state resources, according to Reuters, South China Morning Post, and India Times.

Despite the charges, Wickremesinghe's allies and opposition leaders claim that his detention is politically motivated, with statements from Nalin Bandara of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party stressing the need for political unity to oppose Dissanayake's administration. Bandara remarked, "What the former president says is that we should get onto a common stage to fight the oppression of the new government." Concerns over Wickremesinghe's resurgence in politics are also echoed by his own party, the United National Party (UNP). General Secretary Thalatha Athukorala noted, "They fear he might return to power, and that is why this action," emphasizing the underlying political tensions during this crisis, as reported by South China Morning Post, Reuters, and India Times.