Easter Bombing Case Ends in Court, 15 Convicted After Deadly Attacks

Sri Lanka High Court has convicted 15 men charged with plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attack, which killed 270 people and injured more than 500 others. Among those convicted is Naufer Moulavi, whom prosecutors described as the mastermind behind the suicide bombing. Nine other defendants were acquitted, while sentencing was postponed after the court session was adjourned. The coordinated attacks targeted three churches and three luxury hotels and remain among the deadliest acts of violence in Sri Lanka since the end of the country’s civil war in 2009. Forty five foreign nationals were among those killed. All the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks died in the explosions. Investigators have previously linked the bombings to Islamist extremists. The 25 men originally indicted in the case were members of Sri Lanka Muslim minority, while one defendant died in custody. The accused faced more than 23,000 charges and were brought to the High Court in Colombo in two prison buses, handcuffed in pairs. Victims Included Children and Foreign Tourists Most of those killed were Sri Lankan, including children and members of several families. The victims also included celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter, as well as hotel employes who were working at the targeted properties. Among the foreign nationals killed were 11 Indians, eight Britons and five Americans. Citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey were also among the victims. Three children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen were killed in the attack on the Shangri La hotel while the family was holidaying in Sri Lanka. Questions Over Intelligence Failures The attacks triggered intense scrutiny of Sri Lanka security and intelligence agencies. Authorities acknowledged what they described as a major intelligence failure, with parliament hearing that information reportedly received from India about a possible attack was not adequately shared with relevant authorities. In 2023, Sri Lanka Supreme Court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay millions in compensation to victims after finding him responsible for national security failures connected to the attack. Last month, two former senior officials were sentenced to death for criminal negligence linked to the bombings. Sri Lanka, however, has maintained a decade old moratorium on executions, meaning death sentences are generally commuted to life imprisonment. For years, families of victims and other Sri Lankans have staged demonstration calling for greater accountability and a fuller explanation of what happened before the attacks. Separate Investigation Adds Another Layer The latest verdict comes while a separate investigation into former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay continues. Sallay has been accused of orchestrating the attacks in cooperation with Islamist extremist, allegations that he denies. Similar allegations were featured in a 2023 Channel 4 documentary, which presented whistleblower testimony claiming the attacks were deliberately allowed to take place in order to increase support for the Rajapaksa political family. Those claims remain disputed. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who won the presidency several months after the attack while campaigning on a platform focused on tackling Islamist extremism, has denied the allegations. Rajapaksa has since been barred from leaving Sri Lanka and has asked a court to prevent his potential arrest in connection with the ongoing investigations. The conviction of 15 defendants therefore represents one major judicial development in the Easter Sunday case, but questions over intelligence failures, political accountability and the wider circumstances surrounding the attacks continue to be examined separately.