A Sri Lankan court is scheduled to deliver a verdict regarding 24 individuals accused of involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks, which resulted in 270 fatalities and over 500 injuries. The case has been ongoing for several years, with Naufer Moulavi identified as the primary mastermind of the attacks among the defendants. The coordinated suicide bombings targeted multiple locations, including churches during Easter mass and three luxury hotels, marking the deadliest incident in Sri Lanka since the conclusion of its civil war in 2009.
The defendants, which include associates and relatives of the nine suicide bombers, face more than 23,000 charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possession of firearms. All accused individuals have denied any involvement in the attacks.
Investigators attribute the bombings to a local Islamist extremist group. The prosecution has presented Moulavi as the main organizer, citing a voluntary confession he allegedly made, which the court accepted. However, Moulavi later claimed he was unaware of the contents of the document he signed and refuted the allegations against him.
The prosecution has gathered evidence from over 2,300 witnesses and presented 2,076 pieces of evidence, including explosives, swords, and firearms. Following the attacks, Sri Lankan authorities acknowledged a significant intelligence failure, noting that a warning from India regarding the potential attacks was not adequately communicated to the relevant authorities.
In 2023, Sri Lanka's Supreme Court mandated former president Maithripala Sirisena to pay substantial compensation to the victims, citing his responsibility for security lapses that contributed to the attacks. Last month, two former senior officials received death sentences for criminal negligence linked to the bombings, although such sentences are typically converted to life imprisonment in Sri Lanka due to an existing moratorium on executions.
The upcoming verdict coincides with a separate investigation into former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who is accused of collaborating with Islamist extremists in orchestrating the bombings. These claims were also featured in a 2023 documentary by Channel 4, which included whistleblower accounts suggesting that the attacks were permitted to enhance the political standing of the Rajapaksa family, a prominent political dynasty in Sri Lanka.
Sallay, arrested in February, has denied the allegations, as has former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who campaigned on a platform of combating Islamist extremism after the attacks. Rajapaksa, currently barred from leaving the country, has sought a court order to prevent his potential arrest related to the ongoing investigations.