COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan court has sentenced two former senior officials to death after finding them guilty of criminal negligence over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed hundreds of people.
Former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were convicted in a 2-1 ruling by a three-member High Court bench on Friday.
The special fast-track court issued the verdict after the state appealed a 2022 decision that had acquitted the two officials.
The court found that the officials failed to take adequate action despite receiving intelligence warnings about possible attacks before the bombings.
The coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019, targeted three luxury hotels and three churches in Sri Lanka, killing 279 people, including 45 foreign nationals, and injuring more than 500 others.
A parliamentary investigation found that security and intelligence officials failed to respond effectively to repeated warnings about the planned attacks.
Lawyer Chaminda Athukorale, representing the two former officials, said they would appeal the verdict within two weeks, arguing that a dissenting judgment showed they had no intention to cause harm and had no links to the attackers.
“The dissenting judgment explains why the two accused had no motive to kill and no links with the actual perpetrators of the bombings,” Athukorale said.
During the proceedings, the court was informed that an Indian intelligence agency had warned Sri Lankan authorities on April 4, 2019, about a possible suicide attack, but no effective preventive measures were taken.
The two former officials had previously been ordered to pay 125 million Sri Lankan rupees in compensation to victims and survivors in a separate civil case.
Sri Lankan authorities have blamed two ISIL-inspired local groups for carrying out the Easter attacks, while several other suspects accused of supporting the perpetrators remain on trial.
The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has continued to demand a deeper investigation, claiming that those identified as attackers were not the only individuals responsible and that a wider conspiracy may exist.
Although Sri Lanka’s courts continue to issue death sentences, the country has maintained a moratorium on executions since 1976, meaning such sentences are generally commuted to life imprisonment.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has supported maintaining the moratorium. Government figures show that hundreds of prisoners remain on death row in Sri Lanka.
Originally Published by: Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AP
Disclaimer: This news is based on reports from external agencies and official sources. We are not responsible for any errors or omissions. Content is for informational purposes only.
Editorial Desk is the official editorial byline of The Global Confluence, used for staff-written reports, news updates, and institutional analysis produced in line with the publication’s editorial policies and standards.