A Sri Lankan court has sentenced former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death after finding them guilty of criminal negligence in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 260 people. The verdict was delivered on Friday by a 2-1 majority of a three-judge panel at a special court.
The sentence was handed down after the state appealed a 2022 ruling that had acquitted both men. The coordinated bombings struck three tourist hotels and three churches, including two Catholic churches and one Protestant church. A parliamentary committee determined that police and intelligence officials had failed to act despite receiving multiple warnings about the attack threat.
Lawyer Chaminda Athukorale, representing both defendants, said on Saturday they would appeal within two weeks. He told AFP: "The dissenting verdict explains why the two defendants had no motive to kill and were not linked to the actual perpetrators of the bombings."
During the trial, the court was informed that an Indian intelligence agency had warned Sri Lanka on April 4, 2019, of a possible suicide attack, but local authorities did not act.
Earlier, in a civil case, Fernando and Jayasundara were ordered to pay 125 million rupees (approximately $372,464) in compensation to surviving victims.
Two groups linked to the Islamic State (ISIL) organization in Sri Lanka were accused of carrying out the suicide bombings. Those directly involved are believed to have died. Separate trials are ongoing for others accused of involvement.
The attacks killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, and injured more than 500. The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has maintained that those identified as perpetrators were not the real masterminds, suggesting a larger conspiracy behind the incident.
The death penalty in Sri Lanka typically equates to life imprisonment, as the country has maintained a moratorium on executions since 1976. Current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake supports keeping the moratorium. According to government figures released in February, at least 800 people are on death row, often with sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
