Sri Lanka court convicts 14 over 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279

Sri Lanka's High Court convicted 14 men on September 22, 2026, for their roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, and injured over 500. Nine others were acquitted. Prosecutors brought over 23,000 charges in the landmark trial, identifying Mohamed Naufar as the mastermind. The verdict comes amid sensitive investigations into allegations that former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay and elements of the state orchestrated the attacks to bolster political support for the Rajapaksa family.

Easter Sunday bombings trial verdict

• ▪Sri Lanka's High Court in Colombo convicted 14 of 24 defendants on September 22, 2026, for their involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, while nine were acquitted and one was found guilty of only some charges
• ▪The charges against the 24 men tried in Sri Lanka's High Court for the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act
• ▪The High Court of Colombo trial for the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings involved 23,270 charges filed by prosecutors, representing the highest number of charges ever brought in a single case in Sri Lanka
• ▪Sri Lankan prosecutors identified Mohamed Naufar, also known as Naufer Moulavi, as the mastermind who supported the eight-member suicide squad that carried out the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings

Islamist extremist attack planning

• ▪Investigators blamed the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people on a homegrown Islamist extremist group, with all 25 originally indicted men belonging to Sri Lanka's Muslim minority
• ▪The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings were carried out by an eight-member suicide squad whose members all died in the blasts
• ▪Three of the 24 men accused in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings and held in Sri Lankan custody were also charged by United States authorities in December 2020 with terrorism-related offenses

Attack casualties

• ▪The coordinated 2019 Easter Sunday bombings targeted three luxury hotels and three churches, killing 279 people
• ▪The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka injured more than 500 people
• ▪The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings were the deadliest attack against civilians in Sri Lanka's history since the end of its civil war in 2009

Foreign victims

• ▪Foreign victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners, included citizens of Australia, Bangladesh, China, Denmark, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Great Britain
• ▪The 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka killed 45 foreigners, including five United States citizens

State involvement allegations

• ▪Investigators allege that former Sri Lankan intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who is in custody, was the mastermind behind the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings and worked with extremists
• ▪The Rajapaksa political camp rejected allegations of state involvement in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, maintaining that militants used as intelligence assets had double-crossed their Sri Lankan state handlers
• ▪Investigators allege that a network of Islamist extremists tied to the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings was cultivated to manufacture a security threat to bolster political support for the Rajapaksa family, which returned to power months after the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people

Intelligence warnings ignored

• ▪Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976, and capital punishment sentences in the country are typically commuted to life imprisonment
• ▪In July 2026, two Sri Lankan security officials were sentenced to death in a case separate from the trial of the 24 men accused in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, for failing to prevent the bombings despite receiving intelligence warnings

Debatable claims

• ▪Sri Lankan state intelligence orchestrated the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings
• ▪Sri Lanka should resume executions for terrorism-related convictions