A Sri Lankan court is scheduled to deliver verdicts today for Naufer Moulavi, who is accused of masterminding the 2019 Easter bomb attacks, and 23 other individuals. The co-ordinated suicide bombings killed 270 people and injured more than 500 across several churches and hotels in Colombo.
The prosecution named Moulavi as the main organiser of the attacks and submitted what they described as a voluntary confession, which the court accepted. However, Moulavi later told the three-judge bench that he was not shown what he was signing and rejected the allegations.
Among those facing more than 23,000 charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit terrorism, are associates and relatives of the nine suicide bombers. The prosecution presented evidence from over 2,300 people and 2,076 pieces of evidence, including explosives, swords, and firearms.
The verdicts come as a separate investigation into former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay is ongoing. Sallay, who denies the allegations, is accused of orchestrating the bombings with Islamist extremists. Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has also denied allegations and has asked the court to prevent his potential arrest in connection with the ongoing investigations.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ordered former president Maithripala Sirisena to pay compensation to victims due to national security failures. Last month, two former senior officials received death sentences for criminal negligence related to the bombings, though such sentences are usually commuted to life imprisonment in Sri Lanka.