Sri Lankan court convicts 15 men over plotting Easter bombings
The High Court convicted 15 men over the 2019 attacks that killed 270 people, while acquitting nine others and delaying sentencing.
Sri Lanka’s High Court has convicted 15 men charged with plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 270 people and injured more than 500.
The coordinated attacks targeted three churches and three luxury hotels. Forty-five foreign nationals were among the dead, while all the suicide bombers died in the blasts.
Those convicted include Naufer Moulavi, whom prosecutors identified as the alleged mastermind of the attacks. The reported charges concerned plotting the bombings, rather than carrying them out.
The court acquitted nine other men and adjourned the session before sentencing. The full reasons for the convictions and the eventual penalties were not provided.
The BBC reported that authorities had previously blamed the attacks on Islamist extremists and acknowledged a major intelligence failure. In 2023, former president Maithripala Sirisena was ordered to pay compensation over national security failures linked to the bombings.
The verdict comes as a separate investigation continues into allegations involving former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay. Sallay and former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa deny allegations that they helped orchestrate the attacks.
