A special fast-track court in Sri Lanka has sentenced two former high-ranking security officials to death for criminal negligence in connection with the catastrophic 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
In a 2-1 decision issued on Friday, a three-member High Court bench convicted former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando. The ruling successfully appealed and overturned a 2022 decision that had previously acquitted both men.
The devastating 2019 terror attacks targeted three tourist hotels and three churches across the country, claiming the lives of nearly 280 people—including 45 foreign nationals—and leaving more than 500 injured.
During the trial, the court learned that Indian intelligence had explicitly warned Sri Lankan authorities of a potential suicide attack on April 4, 2019, weeks before the bombings occurred. Despite these repeated and credible alerts, the nation's top security officials failed to implement preventative measures.
Defense lawyer Chaminda Athukorale announced that his clients plan to appeal the conviction within the next two weeks.
"The dissenting judgment explains why the two accused had no motive to kill and no links with the actual perpetrators of the bombings," Athukorale stated.
While the direct attackers—who were linked to local ISIL-inspired extremist groups—all died in the suicide bombings, separate trials are ongoing for suspected accomplices. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's Catholic Church continues to press for further investigation, maintaining that the true masterminds remain at large and alleging that a broader, hidden conspiracy orchestrated the bloodshed.
Despite the severity of the court's sentencing, Jayasundara and Fernando are highly unlikely to face execution. Sri Lanka has maintained a strict moratorium on capital punishment since 1976. Death sentences, which currently apply to over 800 inmates in the country, are routinely commuted to life in prison. Current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake supports upholding the moratorium.
This latest criminal conviction follows a previous civil ruling that ordered Jayasundara and Fernando to pay 125 million rupees (approximately $372,000) in compensation to the survivors of the attacks.