Sri Lankan court finds 15 defendants guilty in 2019 attacks — BBC News
Sri Lanka’s High Court in Colombo has found 15 men accused of preparing the 2019 Easter bombings guilty. The attacks killed 270 people and injured more than 500 others. Among those convicted is Naufer Moulavi, whom prosecutors described as the organiser of the suicide attacks, BBC News reports.
Nine other defendants were acquitted. In total, the case involved 25 men from Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority, one of whom died in custody. All those who carried out the bombings were killed during the attacks. The court adjourned the hearing until sentences are handed down to those convicted.
Attacks on churches and hotels
The coordinated bombings took place at three churches and three luxury hotels. It was the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war in 2009. Most of those killed were citizens of the country, including many children.
Among the victims were 45 foreigners, including 11 Indian citizens, eight Britons and five Americans. Citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey were also killed. Three children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen were killed in the attack on the Shangri-La hotel.
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Other investigations
After the bombings, Sri Lankan authorities said there had been a serious intelligence failure. The country’s parliament was informed that India’s warning about possible attacks had not been properly passed on to the relevant agencies.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay millions in compensation to victims of the bombings, finding him responsible for failures in national security. Last month, two former senior officials were sentenced to death for criminal negligence that led to the attacks. In Sri Lanka, death sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment because of a long-standing moratorium on executions.
Separately, an investigation is ongoing into former intelligence chief Suresh Salley, who is accused of organising the attacks together with Islamist extremists. Salley, who was arrested in February, denies the allegations. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is barred from leaving the country, also denies the accusations and is asking the court to prevent his possible arrest as part of this investigation.
