Sri Lankan Court Convicts 15 in 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings

A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday convicted 15 men for their involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history.

The coordinated blasts on April 21, 2019, struck three churches and three hotels across Sri Lanka as Easter services and celebrations were underway. More than 260 people were killed and about 500 wounded, among them 42 foreign nationals.

The bombings were inspired by the Islamic State group. Two Sri Lanka-based Islamic militant groups were accused of carrying out the attacks.

In 2021, authorities filed 23,270 charges against 24 suspects accused of planning or inspiring the bombings. 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.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has claimed, without providing evidence, that those identified so far as perpetrators were not the masterminds and that a larger conspiracy lay behind the attacks.

Separately, in July, a former police chief and a former senior defence ministry official were sentenced to death for failing to act promptly on foreign intelligence warnings of possible attacks.