Sri Lanka sentences Easter bombing mastermind to 220 yrs

A Sri Lankan High Court has sentenced 15 people convicted over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings to between 200 and 260 years in prison, with Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer, alias Naufer Moulavi, identified by prosecutors as a key figure in the attacks, receiving a 220-year term. The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar delivered the verdict after a trial lasting nearly five years, convicting 15 of 24 defendants and acquitting the remaining nine.

The three-judge bench imposed 200-year sentences on five convicts, 220 years on another five, 240 years on four and 260 years on one, while also ordering the confiscation of their movable and immovable properties. The case involved more than 23,270 charges, including conspiracy and aiding and abetting the attacks, with hundreds of prosecution witnesses giving evidence over the course of the trial. The April 21, 2019 bombings targeted three churches and three hotels, killing hundreds of people, including dozens of foreign nationals, and injuring more than 500 others.

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The verdict concludes one of Sri Lanka's most closely watched terrorism trials, although questions surrounding the broader circumstances of the attacks remain. The Catholic Church has welcomed the convictions but has continued to call for investigation into whether a wider conspiracy existed beyond those convicted; such claims remain contested. Meanwhile, a parliamentary inquiry previously found that security and intelligence officials had failed to act on repeated warnings about the impending attacks, while separate legal proceedings involving former senior security officials have also followed.