Former IGP, Defence Secy sentenced to death over Easter Sunday attacks

Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were yesterday sentenced to death by the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar after being found guilty of failing to discharge their official duties despite receiving intelligence warnings ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

The verdicts were delivered by the three-member Trial-at-Bar after separate trials against the two former top security officials, who had been indicted by the Attorney General over their alleged failure to prevent the coordinated suicide bombings.

Jayasundara was convicted by a majority decision of the bench, comprising Justices Priyantha Liyanage, Thilakarathna Bandara and Viraj Weerasuriya. Justices Liyanage and Bandara found him guilty of aiding and abetting deaths through criminal negligence and dereliction of duty, while Justice Weerasuriya dissented, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The former Police Chief was found guilty on 854 of the 855 charges filed against him and sentenced to death.

Fernando, who was tried separately before the same Trial-at-Bar, was also convicted and sentenced to death after the court found him guilty of failing to act on intelligence warnings that could have prevented the attacks.

The prosecutions centred on allegations that the two former officials failed to take timely preventive measures despite receiving advance intelligence information warning of an imminent terrorist attack.

Jayasundara served as Sri Lanka's 34th Inspector General of Police from April 2016 until he was sent on compulsory leave following the Easter Sunday attacks. He was among the country's senior-most security officials at the time of the bombings.

In a separate civil action, the Supreme Court in January 2023 held Jayasundara personally liable for violating the fundamental rights of the victims through his failure to prevent the attacks and ordered him to pay Rs. 75 million in compensation. He subsequently paid the full amount as directed by the Court.

The two accused were initially acquitted by a previous Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar in February 2022 without being called upon to present their defence. The Attorney General challenged the acquittals before the Supreme Court, which ruled that the decision was contrary to law and ordered the continuation of the proceedings.

The retrial was subsequently conducted before the present Trial-at-Bar, with hearings in Jayasundara's case concluding on June 12 and Fernando's case on June 13.

The Easter Sunday terrorist attacks on April 21, 2019, targeted churches and luxury hotels across the country, killing more than 260 people and injuring hundreds in one of the deadliest acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka's history.