Sri Lanka: 15 men jailed for life in 2019 Easter bombings
The 15 convicts have been given prison sentences of at least 200 years each, following a long trial in what was among Sri Lanka's deadliest attacks.
A court in Sri Lanka has convicted 15 men to life in prison for their roles in the 2019 Easter bombings, which killed 279 people and injured 574 more. The High Court in Colombo sentenced 14 of the defendants to 200 to 260 years, while the 15th received a lesser sentence. The court ordered the seizure of the convicts' property and assets.
Nine men were acquitted. The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings targeted churches and luxury hotels, making it one of the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka's history. The trial lasted nearly five years and involved 23,270 charges against 25 suspects, all from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community. Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer, the alleged leader of the bombings, was sentenced to 240 years in prison with hard labor for radicalizing the other defendants.
One defendant died during pretrial detention. The verdict comes amid a separate probe investigating alleged links between elements within the Sri Lankan state and the perpetrators. Former intelligence chief Suresh Salley has been arrested on charges of masterminding the attacks, which he denies.
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