Sri Lanka Easter attacks: ex-police chief, defence secretary get death sentence

A Colombo High Court sentenced former police chief Pujith Jayasundera and former defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death over the 2019 Easter attacks. The ruling revives accountability over ignored intelligence warnings before one of Sri Lanka's deadliest bombings.

In Short

• Court held ignored intelligence warnings directly contributed to mass civilian casualties
• The coordinated suicide bombings targeted churches and luxury hotels on Easter
• Supreme Court revived proceedings after the attorney general challenged acquittals

Sri Lanka's former police chief Pujith Jayasundera and former Defence Ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando were sentenced to death on Friday over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, in which more than 270 people were killed. A High Court in Colombo found both men guilty of criminal dereliction of duty for failing to act on prior intelligence that could have prevented the bombings.

The case relates to the coordinated suicide attacks on churches and luxury hotels in 2019. The High Court had earlier acquitted the two men, but the case was revived after a Supreme Court order on an appeal filed by the attorney general.

The bombings killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, on April 19, 2019. Jayasundera and Fernando were arrested later that year and remained in custody for four months before being released on bail.

In November 2021, they were indicted for negligence despite prior intelligence from Indian agencies that local jihadists were planning an attack. In February 2022, however, the High Court acquitted the duo and dismissed all 855 charges against them.

The case was revived in November 2024 after the Supreme Court intervened following the attorney general's appeal against the acquittal. The attorney general said no defence witnesses were called at the previous hearing.

Reading the majority verdict, Justices Priyantha Liyanage and Thilakaratne Bandara said that because of negligence in acting on intelligence information, 268 people died and 586 were injured. They said Jayasundera had failed in his duty to protect the lives of citizens and ensure public security.

Justice Viraj Weerasuriya, the third judge on the bench, gave a dissenting ruling and acquitted both men.

The then government led by President Maithripala Sirisena had been blamed for failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence from India about an impending strike. With Friday's verdict, Jayasundera became the most senior police official to be tried and sentenced in the more than 150-year history of Sri Lanka's police force.

The ruling marks a major development in the long-running Easter Sunday attacks case, with the court holding the former top police and defence officials responsible for failing to act on warnings ahead of the deadly bombings.

With PTI Inputs

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