Ex-IGP, defence secretary convicted in Easter attacks case

Former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were sentenced to death being found guilty of negligence over preventing the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar found both failed to act on intelligence warnings ahead of the Easter Sunday attacks, and their inaction resulted in over 260 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

The court found Fernando and Jayasundara guilty of criminal negligence, dereliction of duty, and aiding and abetting fatalities through inaction on intelligence warnings received ahead of the attacks.

The three-judge bench comprised Priyantha Liyanage, Viraj Weerasuriya and Thilakaratne Bandara.

The court delivered the majority decision in the case, convicting Fernando on 854 of the 855 charges filed against them.

Fernando served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence from 2018 until his resignation on April 25, 2019. 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.

The case against Fernando and Jayasundara was instituted by the Attorney General, and was heard before the three-judge bench of the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar. The trial concluded recently, after the prosecution and defence completed their submissions, paving the way for today's judgment.

The legal proceedings leading to the judgment involved significant judicial turns. Both Jayasundara and Hemasiri Fernando were initially acquitted by the Trial-at-Bar in February 2022 without being called to present a defence. However, following an appeal by the Attorney General, the Supreme Court ruled that the acquittal was contrary to law and ordered the trial to resume.

The Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019, stand among the deadliest security failures in Sri Lankan history. Churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka suffered coordinated terrorist attacks in April 2019, resulting in over 260 fatalities and hundreds injured, in one of the deadliest incidents in the country's history. The widespread devastation triggered intense public outcry and exhaustive legal scrutiny into top-tier national security failures.