Law & Justice
Sri Lanka Easter case: ex-chiefs to appeal death terms
Two former Sri Lankan security chiefs sentenced to death over failures before the 2019 Easter bombings will appeal their convictions, their lawyer said Saturday.
Former defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando, 76, and former police inspector-general Pujith Jayasundara, 66, were sentenced to death on Friday by a three-judge Colombo High Court bench in a 2-1 decision.
Lawyer Chaminda Athukorale said the pair would file an appeal in the Supreme Court within two weeks. He said the dissenting judgment explained why the two accused had no motive to kill and no links with the perpetrators of the bombings.
The April 21, 2019 attacks, blamed on homegrown Islamist extremists, killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, and wounded more than 500. They targeted three churches and three hotels.
Fernando and Jayasundara were found guilty at a special fast-track court of failing in their duties to stop the attacks. During the proceedings, the court was told that an Indian intelligence agency had alerted Sri Lanka on April 4, 2019, to a possible suicide attack by Islamist extremists, but authorities failed to act.
The two men had been discharged by another High Court ruling in February 2022, which found there was no evidence to try them for murder or aiding and abetting the crime. The state appealed, and the Supreme Court ordered the retrial that led to Friday's verdict.
Sri Lanka has not carried out a death sentence since 1976 and maintains an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment. Government figures shared with parliament in February put 817 people on death row, with sentences usually commuted to life imprisonment.
Fernando and Jayasundara are being held in a maximum-security prison in Colombo. In an earlier civil action, they were ordered to pay 125 million rupees, estimated at $372,464, in damages to survivors.
Update
Lawyer Chaminda Athukorale said Hemasiri Fernando and Pujith Jayasundara would appeal to the Supreme Court within two weeks.
Athukorale cited the dissenting judgment in the 2-1 decision, saying it explained why the two had no motive to kill and no links to the bombers.
The two former officials are being held in a maximum-security prison in Colombo.
Government figures shared with parliament in February put 817 people on death row in Sri Lanka.
Source note: AFP news report published on 1 August 2026 at 09:16:49 UTC.
Update
A three-judge bench reached the decision by majority.
Pujith Jayasundara and Hemasiri Fernando can appeal to the Supreme Court.
Both men have been remanded to judicial custody until granted bail.
A previous civil action ordered them to pay 125 million rupees, estimated at $372,464, as damages to survivors.
Prosecutors had told the high court that their alleged negligence amounted to grave crimes against humanity and brought murder charges.
The two men told a parliamentary inquiry that then-president Maithripala Sirisena failed to follow security protocols and did not take the threats seriously.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 15:18:27 UTC.
Update
Former defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando was sentenced to death.
Fernando, 76, was convicted of negligence leading to the deaths of 279 people, including 45 foreigners.
The item says former police chief Pujith Jayasundara received the same punishment shortly before.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 15:05:47 UTC.
Update
A Sri Lankan court sentenced a former defence ministry secretary over the 2019 bombings.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 14:50:29 UTC.
Update
Pujith Jayasundara can appeal the death sentence in Sri Lanka's Supreme Court.
Sri Lanka has not carried out a death sentence since 1976 and maintains an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment.
The judgment followed a state appeal against a 2022 decision that acquitted Jayasundara and former defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando.
The court was told that an Indian intelligence agency had warned Sri Lanka on April 4, 2019 of a possible suicide attack by Islamist extremists.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 13:51:42 UTC.
Update
Former police chief Pujith Jayasundara was sentenced to death.
The sentence was issued by a special Sri Lankan court on Friday.
The case concerned failure to prevent the 2019 Easter bombings, which killed 279 people including 45 foreigners.
A three-judge bench reached a majority decision that the former inspector general had failed in his duties.
Source note: AFP news report published on 31 July 2026 at 13:20:57 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The outcome and timing of the planned Supreme Court appeal are unresolved.
Source
AFP news report published on .