Urgent.News

What's breaking now, across thousands of outlets.

World

Sri Lankan court sentences 15 men to life in prison for roles in deadly 2019 Easter bombings

A Sri Lankan court convicted 15 men over the 2019 Easter bombings and sentenced each to 200 years in prison.

Sri Lankan court sentences 15 men to life in prison for roles in deadly 2019 Easter bombings

Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday sentenced 15 men to 220 years in prison for their alleged direct involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed 279 lives. Out of the 25 initially charged, 14 were found guilty on all counts, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possession of firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

One defendant was convicted on some charges, while the remaining nine were acquitted. The court also ordered the confiscation of all the convicted men's property and assets. The 2019 attack, the worst terror incident in Sri Lanka's history, targeted three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people, including 45 foreigners.

The convicts, all from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community, are accused of aiding and abetting the suicide bombers. The trial, spanning five years and involving 23,270 charges, marks the first criminal prosecution directly linked to the coordinated bombings.

Written by urgent.news from Gulf News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.

This story

This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.

Read the original at channelnewsasia.com →

More in World

More from Tuesday 22 September →