Sri Lanka court convicts 15 men over deadly Easter Sunday bombings
The 2019 attacks were the deadliest the country had seen since the end of its civil war.
On Easter Sunday in 2019, 15 men were convicted by Sri Lanka's High Court for their roles in a series of deadly bombings that claimed 270 lives and injured over 500 others. Among those found guilty is Naufer Moulavi, who prosecutors claim orchestrated the suicide attacks. Nine others were acquitted. These coordinated explosions at three churches and three luxury hotels marked the deadliest incident in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009.
Forty-five foreigners perished in the attacks. All bombers were killed by the blasts. Investigators have consistently pointed to Islamist extremists as responsible for the bombings, and the 25 men indicted were all from Sri Lanka's Muslim minority. One of the accused died while in custody. The men faced over 23,000 charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possession of firearms.
Over 2,300 witnesses testified for the prosecution, and there were 2,076 pieces of evidence presented, including explosives, swords, and firearms. Following the attacks, officials lamented a significant intelligence failure, noting that crucial information from India about the bombings was not effectively shared with local authorities.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay substantial compensation to the victims, citing his responsibility for national security shortcomings that contributed to the bombings. Recently, two former senior officials were sentenced to death for criminal negligence that resulted in the attacks.
Death sentences are typically commuted to life imprisonment in Sri Lanka due to a long-standing moratorium on executions. For years, Sri Lankans have staged regular protests demanding justice for the victims of the Easter bombings. This news story will be updated with further details, so please refresh the page for the most comprehensive version.
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