Sri Lanka death sentences officials over Easter bombings

A Sri Lankan court on Friday, July 31, 2026, sentenced two former senior officials to death for criminal negligence that allowed the devastating Easter Sunday bombings in 2019, which killed more than 260 people. The three-member High Court bench found former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and former Defense Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando guilty of failing to act on prior intelligence warnings, leading to the attacks.

The verdict was delivered as a majority decision, with two judges agreeing on the death sentence and one judge dissenting, arguing for acquittal. Both men have the right to appeal the ruling. The court first announced the sentence for Jayasundara, followed later in the day by the ruling against Fernando. The two former officials had previously been acquitted of the same charges by a High Court in 2022, but the Supreme Court ordered a fresh trial, which began in March of this year.

The coordinated bombings on April 21, 2019, targeted three churches and three luxury hotels. The attacks, among the deadliest in Sri Lanka's recent history, killed 279 people, including at least 42 foreigners, and injured approximately 500 others. Many of the victims were members of...