Sri Lankan court to deliver verdict on deadly Easter bombings

A Sri Lankan court is set to rule on 24 people accused of plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 270 people and injured more than 500.

The case against Naufer Moulavi, named as the main mastermind of the attacks, and 23 others has dragged on for years.

The co-ordinated suicide attacks on multiple locations including several churches holding Easter mass and three luxury hotels were the deadliest Sri Lanka had seen since the end of its civil war in 2009.

The associates and relatives of nine suicide bombers are among those facing more than 23,000 charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms. All defendants have denied involvement.

Investigators blame the attack on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.

The prosecution had named Moulavi as the main organiser of the attacks, and had submitted what they said was a voluntary confession to the court where he had admitted his role.

The court accepted the confession. However, Moulavi later told the three-judge bench hearing the case that he was not shown what he was signing and rejected the allegations against him.

More than 2,300 people gave evidence for the prosecution.

There were also 2,076 pieces of evidence, including explosives, swords and firearms.

In the wake of the attacks, Sri Lankan authorities pointed to a "major intelligence lapse". Its parliament heard that a tip-off from India about the attacks was not properly shared with the authorities.

In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered former president Maithripala Sirisena to pay millions in compensation to the victims of the bombings, after finding him responsible for national security failures that led to the attacks.

Last month, two former senior officials were sentenced to death for criminal negligence that led to the bombings. Death sentences are usually commuted to life in prison in Sri Lanka due to a decades-old moratorium on executions.

For years, Sri Lankans have held regular demonstrations demanding justice for the victims of the Easter attacks.

The verdict on Tuesday comes as a separate investigation on former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is under way. Sallay is accused of orchestrating the bombings with Islamist extremists.

The allegations echo those aired in a 2023 documentary by British broadcaster Channel 4, which heard whistleblower testimony claiming the attacks were allowed to happen to boost the popularity of the Rajapaksa family, which long dominated Sri Lankan politics.

Sallay, who was arrested in February, denies the allegations. Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected months after the 2019 attacks, with a campaign of tackling Islamist extremism has also denied the allegations.

Rajapaksa, who has been banned from leaving the country, has asked the court to prevent his potential arrest in connection with the ongoing investigations.