Sri Lanka's former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando has been found guilty and sentenced to death by the Colombo Special Trial-at-Bar for failing to act on intelligence warnings before the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara received the same sentence on the same…

The Colombo Special Trial-at-Bar has sentenced former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death following his conviction on charges related to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. The three-judge bench, presided over by Judge Priyantha Liyanage, found Fernando guilty of aiding and abetting deaths through the dereliction of official duties. According to reporting, Fernando was convicted on 854 of the 855 charges filed against him.

The bench's decision was not unanimous. While Judges Priyantha Liyanage and Thilakarathna Bandara ruled that the prosecution had proven the charges, Judge Viraj Weerasuriya concluded that the prosecution failed to establish the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. The guilty verdict was reached by majority decision.

On the same day, the Special Trial-at-Bar also sentenced former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara to death after finding him guilty on 854 of 855 charges for similar offences. Both convictions relate to allegations that the officials failed to act on intelligence warnings that could have prevented the coordinated suicide bombings that killed hundreds of people during Easter Sunday celebrations.

These verdicts represent a significant judicial outcome stemming from the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, which stand as one of the deadliest terrorist incidents in Sri Lankan history.