Sri Lanka court convicts 15 men over deadly Easter Sunday bombings

Sri Lanka’s High Court sentenced 15 men on Tuesday to prison terms ranging from 200 to 260 years for their roles in the coordinated 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 270 people and injured more than 500. Among those convicted was Naufer Moulavi, identified by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the suicide attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. The court also ordered the confiscation of all the defendants’ movable and immovable assets. While nine of the original 25 accused were acquitted, the remaining 15 were found guilty of more than 23,000 offences; the other 10 men, including one who died in custody, were not sentenced. All of the bombers who carried out the attacks died in the explosions, and the verdict follows a series of earlier judicial actions, including a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that held former president Maithripala Sirisena financially liable for security failures and the recent death sentences handed to two senior officials for criminal negligence.

The convictions come against a backdrop of intense scrutiny over intelligence failures and alleged political interference that may have facilitated the attacks. Investigators have long blamed Islamist extremists from Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority, and a tip‑off from India about the planned bombings was reportedly not shared properly with Sri Lankan authorities, a lapse highlighted in parliamentary hearings. In addition, a separate investigation is probing former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who is accused of colluding with the extremists—a claim that echoes a 2023 Channel 4 documentary suggesting the attacks were allowed to proceed to bolster the Rajapaksa family’s political standing. Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who rose to power on a platform of combating Islamist extremism, has denied any involvement and has sought court protection against potential arrest, while remaining barred from leaving the country.

The verdict reverberates through a nation still mourning the loss of a diverse group of victims, including 45 foreign nationals—among them 11 Indians, eight Britons, five Americans, and citizens of numerous other countries—and prominent Sri Lankan figures such as celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne, her daughter, and an entire family of five. The attacks also claimed the lives of three children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, who were holidaying at the Shangri‑La hotel. Public outrage has persisted for years, with regular demonstrations demanding accountability. The court’s decision, coupled with ongoing inquiries into intelligence leadership, underscores a broader push for justice and systemic reform, even as death sentences in Sri Lanka are typically commuted to life imprisonment under a longstanding moratorium.

⚡ Effects Interpreter