14 convicted in Sri Lanka over 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "14 convicted in Sri Lanka over 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279")
Sri Lankan security personnel walk past dead bodies covered with blankets amid blast debris at St. Anthony's Shrine following an explosion in the church in Kochchikade in Colombo on April 21, 2019. Photograph: (AFP)
Sri Lanka’s High Court has convicted 14 men over their roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners.
Sri Lanka’s High Court on Tuesday convicted 14 of the 24 men accused of directly supporting the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.
A three-judge bench found the 14 men guilty on all charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The presiding judge told the packed courtroom that the sentences would be announced later on Tuesday.
The 24 men were accused of helping and supporting the suicide bombers who attacked three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019. The bombings killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners.
Local media reported that some of those convicted could face the death penalty. However, Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976, and capital punishment is usually commuted to life imprisonment.
All the accused are members of Sri Lanka’s minority Muslim community. A total of 25 men were initially charged in the case, but one defendant later died in custody.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Investigators blamed the attacks on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.
Record number of charges
The trial had already marked a first in Sri Lankan legal history, with prosecutors bringing 23,270 charges in a single case, the highest number ever filed in the country. The suspects were prosecuted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Among those convicted on all charges was Mohamed Naufar. Prosecutors identified him as the ringleader who supported the eight-member suicide team responsible for carrying out the attacks.
Three of the defendants were also charged by US authorities in December 2020 with terrorism related offences connected to the bombings.
Five Americans were among those killed in the attacks, including an employee of the US Commerce Department who was in Colombo on official business.
