A Sri Lankan High Court has convicted 15 men over their alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings that claimed 270 lives and left more than 500 people injured in 2019.
The convicted men were handed lengthy prison terms ranging from 200 to 260 years following a case in which they faced more than 23,000 charges.
Among those convicted is Naufer Moulavi, whom prosecutors identified as a key figure behind the coordinated suicide attacks. Nine other accused persons were acquitted, while one of the 25 individuals initially indicted died while in custody. The court, sitting in Colombo, also ordered the forfeiture of the convicted men’s movable and immovable property.
The April 2019 attacks targeted three churches and three high-end hotels, making them the most lethal attacks in Sri Lanka since the country’s civil war ended in 2009. All the suicide bombers died during the explosions. The victims were predominantly Sri Lankan nationals, including children. Among those killed were celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter, as well as members of several families and hotel employees.
At least 45 foreign nationals also died in the attacks, including 11 Indians, eight Britons and five Americans. Citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey were also among the victims. Three children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen were killed while staying with their family at the Shangri-La hotel.
The attacks prompted widespread scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s security agencies, with authorities acknowledging serious failures in the handling and sharing of intelligence warnings. Sri Lanka’s parliament was told that information received from India ahead of the attacks had not been adequately communicated to relevant authorities.
In 2023, the country’s Supreme Court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena and other senior officials to compensate victims after finding them responsible for security failures linked to the attacks. The latest convictions come amid continuing investigations into whether other individuals played a role in the bombings.
Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is facing a separate investigation over allegations that he helped orchestrate the attacks in cooperation with Islamist extremists. Sallay, who was arrested in February, has denied the accusations.
The allegations were also featured in a 2023 Channel 4 documentary, which relied on testimony from a whistleblower who claimed the attacks were deliberately allowed to occur to increase support for the Rajapaksa political family.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who won the presidency months after the bombings on a platform centred partly on combating Islamist extremism, has rejected the allegations.
Rajapaksa is currently barred from leaving Sri Lanka and has asked the court to prevent his possible arrest as investigations into the attacks continue.
