Canada has imposed targeted sanctions on four Sri Lankans including two former Presidents.

Accordingly, former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as Staff Sergeant Sunil Ratnayake and Lieutenant Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi face sanctions.

A statement from the Canadian government said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, announced Canada imposed targeted sanctions under regulations pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act against four Sri Lankan state officials responsible for gross and systematic violations of human rights during armed conflict in Sri Lanka, which occurred from 1983 to 2009.

The statement further said, “The regulations pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act impose on listed persons a dealings prohibition, which would effectively freeze any assets they may hold in Canada and render them inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”