Sri Lankan court sentences 15 men to over 200 years in prison for 2019 Easter bombings

Verdicts and prison sentences

A three-judge bench of Sri Lanka's High Court convicted 15 men on 22 September 2026 for their involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings. The judges sentenced each of the convicted men to between 200 and 260 years in prison with hard labour, ensuring they will spend the rest of their lives behind bars. Five defendants received 200-year terms, five were sentenced to 220 years, four received 240 years, and one was given a 260-year sentence. The panel also ordered the complete confiscation of property belonging to the convicted men, all of whom are members of the country's minority Muslim community. Fourteen of the accused were found guilty on all counts of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit terrorism, while a fifteenth defendant was convicted on a subset of the charges. Nine other defendants were acquitted after the court determined that the allegations against them were not proven.

200 years5

220 years5

240 years4

260 years1

200 years

5 defendants

220 years

5 defendants

240 years

4 defendants

260 years

1 defendants

Data from the article text

Courtroom proceedings and charges

The verdict concluded a trial that opened in November 2021 and spanned 547 hearing days over nearly five years under tight security outside the Colombo courthouse. Authorities filed 23,270 charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act against 25 original suspects, one of whom died in custody before the conclusion of the proceedings. The prosecution named Naufer Moulavi as the primary architect behind the attacks, securing his conviction on all charges after the court accepted his initial confession despite his later attempt to retract it. During the reading of the judgment, the defendants requested and received a prayer break before presenting arguments for sentencing leniency. One of the convicted men, Mohamed Ibrahim Saadiq Abdulla, addressed the court following his 240-year sentence.

“What I did or didn't do only God and I know. In the end all people will be resurrected and God will judge everyone.”

The 2019 Easter Sunday attacks

The convictions stemmed from the coordinated attacks on 21 April 2019, when suicide bombers struck three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo during Easter services. Between 267 and more than 300 people were killed in the blasts, with injury figures ranging from 450 to nearly 600 people across the targeted sites. Among the dead were between 42 and 45 foreign nationals from countries including the United States, Britain, China, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Japan. The deadliest explosion occurred at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, where more than 100 worshippers were killed, while at least 28 died at Zion Church in Batticaloa. Three Catholic priests and families of the victims attended the proceedings from a designated tent outside the courthouse. Father Dilan Perera, representing the archdiocese of Colombo, reacted to the ruling outside the courtroom.

“What they have done shouldn't be repeated. Hope this judgment prevents others from doing the same.”

Intelligence failures and political fallout

None of the direct suicide bombers survived the 2019 attacks, leaving the prosecution to focus on individuals who conspired with, aided, and sheltered the attackers. The trial took place following widespread scrutiny of Sri Lankan security officials after evidence revealed that Indian intelligence agencies had provided warnings hours before the explosions. In July 2026, a separate judicial case resulted in death sentences for Sri Lanka's former police chief and a former defense ministry secretary for failing to act on those intelligence alerts, penalties that translate to life imprisonment under a moratorium active since 1976. Earlier in 2026, police arrested retired general Suresh Sallay, who was identified in parliament by Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala as a suspect in an alleged wider conspiracy connected to the 2019 presidential election campaign.