15 men found guilty for roles in 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka
The April 21 attacks targeted three churches and three hotels across the island nation during Easter services and celebrations.
A Sri Lankan court convicted 15 men over their involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 260 people, and sentenced them each to 200 years in prison, meaning they will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
The three-judge High Court panel also ordered their property confiscated. The verdict was delivered after a lengthy trial that spanned for nearly five years.
The April 21 attacks targeted three churches and three hotels across the island nation during Easter services and celebrations.
The Islamic State group-inspired bombings, among the deadliest in Sri Lanka’s history, killed 42 foreigners and devastated communities across the country.
In 2021, authorities filed 23,270 charges against 24 suspects accused of planning or inspiring the attacks.
The charges included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and firearms and explosives offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
None of those believed to have directly participated in the attacks are alive.
Sri Lanka has not carried out executions since 1976, meaning death sentences typically result in life imprisonment.
Two Sri Lanka-based Islamic militant groups were accused of carrying out the bombings.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church has claimed, without providing evidence, that those identified so far as perpetrators are not the masterminds behind the bombings, and that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the attacks.
In July, a former police chief and a former senior defence ministry official were also sentenced to death for failing to act promptly on foreign intelligence warnings of possible attacks.