Sri Lanka to issue verdict in landmark Easter attack trial
Sri Lanka is set to conclude on Tuesday the trial of 24 men accused of plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, the deadliest attack against civilians in the island nation’s history.
Suicide bombers attacked three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people, including 45 foreigners. Investigators have blamed the attacks on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.
One of the 25 men originally indicted over alleged involvement in the bombings has died in custody, leaving 24 defendants to stand trial. All of them are from Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30am (0400 GMT) at the High Court of Colombo.
Police said special security measures would be in place around the court complex ahead of the verdict, which is expected to mark the first time anyone has been sentenced for direct involvement in the attacks.
“Considering the interest in this case, we are making special security arrangements,” police said in a statement.
The trial has already made legal history in Sri Lanka, with prosecutors filing 23,270 charges, the highest number ever brought in a single case.
The charges include murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Prosecutors have identified Mohamed Naufar as the alleged ringleader who provided support to the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the coordinated attacks.
All 24 defendants have denied involvement.
Local media reported that some defendants could face the death penalty if convicted. Sri Lanka, however, has not carried out an execution since 1976, and death sentences are typically commuted to life imprisonment.
The issue of capital punishment gained prominence in July when two security officials were sentenced to death in a separate case for allegedly failing to prevent the attacks despite receiving intelligence warnings.
Alleged state links
Three of the defendants currently in Sri Lankan custody were also charged by US authorities in December 2020 with terrorism-related offences linked to the bombings.
Five Americans were among those killed, including a US Commerce Department employee who was in Colombo on official business. Other foreign victims were citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Britain.
The trial has taken place alongside a separate and sensitive investigation into allegations that elements within the Sri Lankan state may have had links to those responsible for the attacks.
Former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is in custody facing accusations that he orchestrated the bombings. He denies the allegations.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament in June that investigators believed Sallay was the “mastermind” behind the attacks and had worked with Islamist extremists before the bombings.
Investigators allege the network was cultivated to create a security threat that could strengthen political support for the Rajapaksa family, which returned to power several months after the attacks when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected president.
According to court filings, investigators believe the objective was to create chaos and portray Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a former defence chief whose supporters credit him with defeating Tamil separatist rebels in 2009, as the leader best placed to restore security.
The Rajapaksa camp has rejected allegations of state involvement.
Successive Rajapaksa administrations have acknowledged using Islamist militants as intelligence assets during Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war, which ended in 2009.
Supporters of the former ruling family have maintained that the militants later turned against their handlers and carried out the 2019 attacks independently.