A Sri Lankan court has sentenced former police chief Pujith Jayasundara to death for failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, marking the latest development in the long-running effort to hold senior officials accountable for the attacks.
In a majority decision, a three-judge bench ruled that the former inspector general had failed in his duties to stop the coordinated bombings despite advance intelligence warnings. Jayasundara, 66, can appeal the sentence before the Supreme Court.
Friday's judgement comes months after Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department arrested former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay on allegations of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday bombings.
The Easter Sunday attacks on April 21 targeted three churches and three hotels, killing 279 people, including 45 foreign nationals, and wounding more than 500 others.
Larger conspiracy
Investigators have linked the arrest to a broader probe into whether elements of the country's security establishment played a role in the attacks or failed to prevent them.
The investigation has also been shaped by allegations from a whistleblower, who claimed Sallay allowed the bombings to proceed to influence the 2019 presidential election in favour of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa announced his candidacy two days after the attacks and went on to win the November election after campaigning on national security.
Jayasundara was convicted of negligence leading to the deaths of 279 people.
He and Fernando had testified before a parliamentary inquiry that then-president Maithripala Sirisena failed to follow established national security protocols and did not act on intelligence warnings before the attacks.
Sri Lanka has not executed since 1976 despite retaining the death penalty, with death sentences typically commuted to life imprisonment.
