15 convicted over Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed 270
What's the story
A Sri Lankan court has sentenced 15 men to lengthy prison terms for their involvement in the devastating Easter Sunday bombings of 2019. The coordinated attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels killed 270 people, including foreigners from India, Britain, and the United States. All the bombers died in the blasts. The convicted include Naufer Moulavi, who prosecutors identified as the mastermind behind the suicide bombings, while nine other men were acquitted.
Sentencing details
Convicts' assets to be confiscated
The 15 men were sentenced to prison terms between 200 and 260 years. Their movable and immovable assets were also ordered to be confiscated by the court in Colombo.
The accused were facing over 23,000 charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit terrorism under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act.
The coordinated blasts were the deadliest in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009.
Intelligence lapses
Who was behind the bombings?
The bombings were blamed on Islamist extremists.
However, the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka has claimed, without evidence, that those identified as perpetrators are not the masterminds and that there was a bigger conspiracy behind the attacks.
In July, a former police chief and a former top defense ministry official were both sentenced to death for failing to respond quickly to foreign intelligence warnings of potential attacks.
Legal proceedings
Former President ordered to pay compensation
A separate investigation is underway against former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, who is accused of orchestrating the bombings with Islamist extremists.
Sallay, arrested in February, denies the allegations.
In the wake of the attacks, investigators have pointed to "a major intelligence lapse," with a tip-off from India about possible attacks not being properly shared with authorities.