A Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar has sentenced 15 men to rigorous imprisonment terms of 200 to 260 years each for their roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 270 people.

A special three-judge bench of Sri Lanka’s Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on Tuesday sentenced 15 men convicted over the deadly 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings to rigorous imprisonment ranging from 200 to 260 years each. The court also ordered the confiscation of all their movable and immovable property. Nine co-accused were acquitted and released after the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.

The verdict and sentences, delivered by Judges Navaratne Marasinghe, Ramanathan Kannan and Sujeewa Nissanka, concluded a nearly five-year trial involving more than 23,270 charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The coordinated attacks on 21 April 2019 targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing up to 279 people, including dozens of foreign nationals, and injuring more than 500 others.

Long-Awaited Accountability After Five-Year Trial

The Permanent Trial-at-Bar found 14 of the defendants guilty on all major counts, including conspiracy, aiding and abetting the suicide bombers, murder, and offences involving firearms and explosives. A fifteenth was convicted on some of the charges. The suicide bombers themselves died in the blasts.

Among those sentenced was Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer, also known as Naufer Moulavi or Naufar Maulavi, identified by prosecutors as a key figure who supported the attackers linked to the local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamaath, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Other convicted men included Mohamed Shareef Adam Lebbe (alias Gafoor Mama), Hayathu Mohamed Ahamed Milhan, Mohamed Ibrahim Sadik Abdullah, and others whose names were listed in court records.

Sentencing details varied slightly across reports but consistently showed differentiated terms based on the degree of involvement: one man received 260 years, four received 240 years each, five received 220 years, and five received 200 years. All sentences are to be served with rigorous imprisonment. The court emphasised that conspiracy does not require all participants to gather in one place or act simultaneously; those who joined at any stage could be held liable.

Heavy security, including Special Task Force personnel, surrounded the Hulftsdorp court complex as the lengthy judgment was delivered. Catholic priests and relatives of victims were among those present.

The 2019 Attacks That Shattered Sri Lanka’s Post-War Peace

On Easter Sunday 2019, nine suicide bombers struck almost simultaneously. The deadliest blast hit St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, where more than 100 worshippers died. St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo and Zion Church in Batticaloa were also targeted, as were the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels in the capital. A seventh explosion occurred at a motel after one attacker aborted a planned hotel strike.

The attacks came a decade after the end of Sri Lanka’s long civil war and triggered a wave of anti-Muslim violence. Indian intelligence agencies had provided multiple warnings naming suspects and possible targets in the days and hours before the bombings, yet the information was not acted upon effectively — a failure that has produced separate legal consequences.

Official Negligence Also Under Scrutiny

In a related case earlier this year, the same court sentenced former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death for criminal negligence in failing to prevent the attacks. Death sentences in Sri Lanka are customarily not carried out under a long-standing moratorium and typically result in life imprisonment. Former President Maithripala Sirisena was earlier ordered by the Supreme Court to pay compensation to victims for security lapses.

The main trial against the alleged organisers and supporters began in 2021 after indictments were filed against 25 suspects (one later died in custody). More than 2,300 prosecution witnesses testified, and the indictment ran to roughly 8,900 pages.

Reactions from Victims’ Families and the Church

Catholic Church representatives welcomed the outcome. “Finally, we have justice,” one priest told reporters. “It has taken a long time to get to this point.” Survivors and families of the dead have long demanded accountability, holding regular protests over the years. Some continue to question whether the convicted men represent the full extent of any wider network, pointing to persistent claims of political motives that remain unproven in court.

The government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has previously signalled interest in further inquiries into the broader circumstances of the attacks, including earlier intelligence failures.

What the Sentences Mean in Practice

Under Sri Lankan law, the lengthy concurrent terms effectively ensure the convicts will spend the rest of their lives in prison. The confiscation order covers all their assets from the start of the sentences. The nine acquitted men were ordered released immediately.

The case marks the primary criminal prosecution of those accused of planning and facilitating one of the deadliest terror attacks in Sri Lanka’s modern history. While the suicide bombers died in the bombing, the court’s findings established that the convicted individuals played essential supporting roles in the conspiracy.

Ongoing Questions of Security and Reform

The verdict arrives as Sri Lanka continues to grapple with the legacy of the 2019 attacks and broader questions of intelligence coordination and political accountability. A new anti-terrorism bill intended to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act has been gazetted, proposing judicial oversight and limits on detention.

For the families of the nearly 270 people killed and the hundreds injured, the sentences represent a measure of legal closure after more than seven years. The court has closed the main chapter of the criminal case against the alleged organisers, even as separate proceedings and public demands for fuller answers continue.

Focus keyphrase: Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks convictions

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