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Wednesday, September 23 2026
Wednesday, September 23 2026
MONETABRIEF - Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday sentenced 15 men to 220 years in prison each for their involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.
The three-judge bench convicted 14 of the men on all charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The 15th defendant was convicted on some charges. Nine others were acquitted.
The court also ordered the confiscation of the convicts’ property and other assets.
The men were accused of aiding the suicide bombers who attacked three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, in Sri Lanka’s deadliest terror attack.
The convictions marked the first criminal prosecution directly linked to the coordinated bombings. Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one died in custody.
Prosecutors filed 23,270 charges — the largest number ever brought in a single Sri Lankan case.
Among those convicted on all charges was Mohamed Naufar, whom prosecutors identified as the ringleader who supported the eight-member suicide squad.
Speculation that the defendants could face the death penalty had circulated before the verdict on the basis that the High Court in July handed the capital punishment to the then Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and Defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando for negligence and failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence warnings.
Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976, and death sentences are typically commuted to life imprisonment.
Five Americans were among those killed in the Easter bombings, along with citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Britain.
The convictions come as investigators pursue a separate inquiry into allegations of state links to the bombings.
Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is in custody on allegations that he masterminded the attacks — a claim he denies.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament in June that investigators believed Sallay had worked with Islamist extremists before the bombings. (COLOMBO/Sept22/2026)
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