COLOMBO, Aug 25: The Colombo High Court has scheduled September 22 for the verdict in the main criminal case concerning Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed 279 lives, including 45 foreign nationals.
The coordinated suicide attacks took place on April 19, 2019, targeting three churches and three luxury hotels in the island nation. The attacks were among the deadliest incidents in Sri Lanka’s recent history.
A three-member trial bench announced on Monday that its ruling against the accused would be delivered next month. Proceedings in the case lasted 547 days, with testimony from 2,309 witnesses.
Initially, 25 people were charged in connection with the attacks. One of the suspects subsequently died, leaving 24 defendants indicted in October 2021.
Investigators have linked the attacks to the local extremist organisation National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ). The group carried out coordinated suicide bombings at churches and high-end hotels in Colombo and other locations.
Mohammadu Ebrahim Mohammadu Naufer, also known as Naufer Moulavi, has been identified as a key suspect in the case. Authorities also investigated his alleged links to Zahran Hashim, the leader of the extremist group who was among the suicide bombers and detonated explosives at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.
The case has remained a major focus of Sri Lanka’s efforts to establish accountability for the attacks and examine whether security agencies adequately responded to warnings received before the bombings.
Earlier this month, former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera and former Defence Ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando were sentenced to death after being found guilty of criminal negligence for failing to act on intelligence warnings that could have helped prevent the attacks.
The courts have also previously held senior officials accountable through fundamental rights proceedings. In 2023, former President Maithripala Sirisena and senior members of the country’s defence establishment were ordered to pay compensation to relatives of victims after the Supreme Court found failures in responding to available intelligence.
The forthcoming verdict is expected to mark a significant stage in the long-running legal proceedings surrounding the Easter Sunday attacks.
