Image: Sri Lankan police personnel escort men accused in the main case related to the Easter Sunday attack of 2019 at the Colombo High Court in Colombo on September 22, 2026. (Photo: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP. /www.firstpost.com/)
Nine accused acquitted as landmark trial concludes, while wider questions over intelligence failures and alleged conspiracy remain
Colombo, 22 September 2026 (Sri Lanka Brief)
The Colombo High Court’s Permanent Trial-at-Bar has sentenced 15 men convicted over the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks to 200 – 260 years of rigorous imprisonment. One accused was sentenced to 260 years, four to 240 years, five to 220 years and the remaining five to 200 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The three-judge bench also ordered the confiscation by the State of all movable and immovable property belonging to those convicted. Nine other defendants were acquitted and released after the prosecution failed to establish the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt.
Delivering the judgment, Presiding Judge Navaratne Marasinghe said that, given its enormous length, the court would read out in open court only the most important points. He said the indictment against the defendants comprised nine volumes and approximately 8,900 pages.
The verdict comes more than seven years after the coordinated suicide bombings of 21 April 2019 targeted three churches and three luxury hotels during Easter Sunday services and celebrations. The attacks killed more than 260 people and injured hundreds, including foreign nationals.
15 found guilty, nine acquitted
The three-member bench was composed of Justices Navarathna Marasinghe, Ramanathan Kannan and Sujeewa Nissanka.
Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one defendant subsequently died in custody, leaving 24 to face judgment. The prosecution had brought 23,270 charges, encompassing offences including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and firearms and explosives offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Fourteen defendants were found guilty on all charges against them, while a fifteenth was convicted on only some charges, according to reports of the judgment. The remaining nine were acquitted.
Among those convicted was Mohamed Naufar, also known as Naufar Maulavi, whom prosecutors identified as a central figure in supporting the group responsible for the attacks.
The 15 convicted persons, according to the information released following the judgment, are:
Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufar, alias Naufar Mawlavi
Mohamed Saribu Adham Lebbe, alias Gafoor Mama
Hayathu Mohamed Ahmed Milhan
Mohamed Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah
Mohamed Ibrahim Hafiz Abdul Haq
Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Rizkan
Mohamed Mansoor Mohamed Sanasdeen
Abdul Manaf Mohamed Firdous
Mohamed Rameez Mohamed Saajith
Abdul Latheef Mohamed Safi
Husainul Rizvi Khalid Sameer
Mohamed Hanifa Zainul Abdeen
Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Haris
Razik Raza Hussain
Kachchi Mohamed Mohamed Jemsith
A wider accountability question remains
While the judgment represents a major criminal conviction arising from the Easter Sunday attacks, it does not end the wider controversy over responsibility for the bombings.
A parliamentary inquiry previously found that police and intelligence officials had failed to act on repeated intelligence warnings before the attacks.
Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church has also maintained that those prosecuted as perpetrators do not necessarily represent the masterminds behind the bombings and has called for the alleged wider conspiracy to be investigated. The Church has not provided evidence establishing such a conspiracy, according to international reports.
More recently, investigators have turned their attention to the possible role of former intelligence officials. Former intelligence chief and retired Major General Suresh Salley was arrested in February 2026 in connection with the attacks. The government has alleged that he had prior knowledge of the attacks and conspired to carry them out. He remains in custody, while Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry has previously denied allegations of state-intelligence involvement.
The Catholic Church nevertheless welcomed Tuesday’s convictions. Catholic priest Jude Fernando told AFP that the judgment represented long-awaited justice, while survivors attending court also welcomed the conclusion of the years-long trial.
Mastermind not yet found
The convictions therefore mark a major judicial determination concerning those accused of facilitating and conspiring in the Easter Sunday attacks, but they do not finally resolve the continuing questions over prior intelligence, institutional responsibility and whether others were involved in planning or enabling the bombings.