Sri Lanka Court Sentences 15 Men to Life Imprisonment for 2019 Easter Bombings

A court in Sri Lanka has sentenced 15 men to prison terms ranging from 200 to 260 years for their involvement in the 2019 Easter bombings. The High Court in Colombo convicted 14 defendants on all charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit terrorism, while the 15th was found guilty on some charges. The court also ordered the seizure of the convicts' property and assets. Nine other men were acquitted during the trial, which lasted nearly five years and involved 23,270 charges filed against the 25 suspects. The bombings, which occurred on April 21, 2019, targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, resulting in 279 deaths and 574 injuries. Investigators attributed the attacks to a local Islamist extremist group. Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer, identified as the alleged leader of the bombings, received a 240-year sentence. The verdict coincides with ongoing investigations into potential links between state elements and the attackers. Former intelligence chief Suresh Salley has been arrested in connection with the attacks, which he denies. A parliamentary committee previously reported that police and intelligence officials failed to heed foreign intelligence warnings prior to the bombings. In July, a former police chief and a former senior Defense Ministry official were sentenced to death for neglecting to act on these warnings.