COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's High Court has found 15 men guilty in connection with the catastrophic 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that left 270 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Heavy security, including scores of armed police officers and commandos, surrounded the courthouse in Colombo as the rulings were delivered.
The coordinated strikes targeted three prominent churches and three high-end hotels across the island nation. Among the individuals convicted was Naufer Moulavi, whom prosecutors identified as the principal mastermind behind the terrorist plot. During the same proceedings, the court cleared nine other defendants of all charges.
The horrific violence marked the single deadliest event in Sri Lanka since the conclusion of the country's civil war in 2009. More than 500 individuals sustained injuries in the explosions, which devastated local congregations and tourists alike. Forty-five foreign nationals were among the fatalities, representing a broad international toll that included citizens from Britain, the United States, India, Australia, and several European nations.
The suicide attackers themselves perished in the blasts. Investigators previously attributed the operation to radical Islamist networks, and the defendants who stood trial belonged to the nation's Muslim minority. The judicial process involved a staggering array of charges, with the accused facing more than 23,000 distinct offenses. Court officials announced an adjournment before handing down official sentences for those convicted.
Public demand for accountability has remained strong in the years following the tragedy, with citizens staging frequent demonstrations seeking justice. Previous legal and political inquiries have highlighted significant failures within the nation's security apparatus. In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that former president Maithripala Sirisena bore responsibility for failing to act on foreign intelligence warnings regarding the plot, ordering him to pay financial compensation to affected families.
Legal accountability efforts have continued to unfold on multiple fronts. Last month, two former high-ranking security officials received death sentences for criminal negligence related to the intelligence breakdowns. Meanwhile, separate judicial inquiries are examining allegations against former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who was taken into custody earlier this year. Sallay has rejected accusations linking him to the extremists, and former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has similarly denied any involvement amid ongoing scrutiny.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.
