Sri Lanka Sentences 15 Men to 220 Years Each for 2019 Easter Sunday Bombings

A Long-Awaited Day of Reckoning

Sri Lanka's High Court on September 22, 2026, handed 220-year jail terms to 15 men convicted of direct involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people. For the families of victims who have waited more than seven years for justice, the verdict was a moment of profound relief — and grief renewed. "Finally, we have justice," Catholic priest Jude Fernando told reporters, adding, "It has taken a long time to get to this point."

The suicide bombers struck three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people, including 45 foreigners. The Islamic State group-inspired bombings are among the deadliest in Sri Lanka's history and devastated communities across the country. The coordinated nature of the attacks — hitting houses of worship and tourist hotspots simultaneously — made them a defining trauma for the island nation.

What the Court Decided

The three-judge bench found that 14 of the accused were guilty on all charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, but all were each handed 220-year sentences. Nine others were acquitted. All of the accused are from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community. Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one defendant died in custody.

The verdict came at the end of a nearly five-year trial involving more than 23,270 charges — the most filed in a single case in Sri Lankan legal history. Among those convicted on all charges was Mohamed Naufar, whom prosecutors identified as the ringleader who supported the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the attacks. Two Sri Lanka-based Islamic militant groups were accused of carrying out the bombings, and none of those believed to have been directly involved are living. The court also ordered the confiscation of the convicts' properties.

A Deeper Web of Accountability

In July, a former police chief and a former senior defence ministry official were also sentenced to death for failing to act promptly on foreign intelligence warnings of possible attacks. Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976, meaning death sentences typically result in life imprisonment. The inclusion of senior officials in the legal reckoning signals that courts are looking beyond the bombers themselves to examine how the state may have failed its citizens.

A separate investigation into former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is also under way after allegations emerged that people within the Sri Lankan state may have had links with those responsible for the attacks. Sallay was arrested in February and denies all allegations. The court heard that an Indian intelligence agency had weeks earlier alerted Sri Lanka to a possible suicide attack by Islamist extremists, but authorities failed to take action. A parliamentary committee found that police and intelligence officials failed to act on repeated intelligence warnings of the attacks.

Justice Delivered, Questions Remaining

Sri Lanka's Catholic Church, which has pressed for years for accountability over the attacks, welcomed the convictions. Survivor Teresa Fernando, who suffered head injuries in the blasts, said no one should have to endure what she had gone through. "We came here today as victims of this attack to receive justice," she said. Her words captured a sentiment shared by hundreds of families across the country.

Still, not everyone feels the chapter is closed. Sri Lanka's Catholic Church has long argued that the bombings were part of a broader conspiracy extending beyond those now convicted. The investigation into state-level complicity — and what officials knew, and when — may ultimately prove just as consequential as the trial itself. With Sallay still in custody and questions about institutional failures unresolved, the full truth of April 21, 2019, may still be years away from coming to light.