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Easter Sunday attacks: Pujith, Hemasiri sentenced to death

Published

4 weeks ago

2026/08/1

Former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were yesterday sentenced to death by the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar after being found guilty of failing to act on intelligence warnings ahead of the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attacks.

The verdicts followed separate trials against the two former senior security officials, who were indicted by the Attorney General on charges including criminal negligence and dereliction of duty over their alleged failure to prevent the coordinated suicide bombings.

Jayasundara was convicted by a majority decision of the three-member bench comprising Justices Priyantha Liyanage, Thilakarathna Bandara and Viraj Weerasuriya. Justices Liyanage and Bandara found him guilty of aiding and abetting deaths through criminal negligence and dereliction of duty, while Justice Weerasuriya dissented, holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The former Police Chief was convicted on 854 of the 855 charges filed against him and sentenced to death.

Fernando, who was tried separately before the same Trial-at-Bar, was also convicted and sentenced to death after the court found that he had failed to take necessary action despite receiving advance intelligence warnings that could have prevented the attacks.

The prosecution alleged that both accused neglected to take timely preventive measures despite receiving credible intelligence indicating that a major terrorist attack was imminent.

Jayasundara served as Sri Lanka’s 34th Inspector General of Police from April 2016 until he was sent on compulsory leave following the Easter Sunday bombings.

In January 2023, the Supreme Court, in a separate fundamental rights case, held Jayasundara personally liable for violating the rights of the victims through his failure to prevent the attacks and ordered him to pay Rs. 75 million in compensation. He subsequently settled the full amount.

The two accused were initially acquitted by a previous Trial-at-Bar in February 2022 without being called upon to present their defence. The Attorney General successfully appealed the decision before the Supreme Court, which ruled that the acquittals were contrary to law and ordered the cases to proceed to trial.

The retrials were conducted before the present Trial-at-Bar, with proceedings against Jayasundara concluding on June 12 and those against Fernando on June 13.

The Easter Sunday attacks on April 21, 2019, targeted churches and luxury hotels, killing more than 260 people and injuring hundreds in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country’s history.

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Govt. determined to press ahead with 22A: Justice Minister

Published

7 hours ago

2026/08/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Nanayakkara

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said yesterday that the government would proceed with both the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, and the Judicature (Amendment) Bill, because the government could not achieve its goal by increasing the retirement ages of a section of the judges.

The Attorney-at-Law declared that the government would go ahead with both Bills, whatever the obstacles. The Minister was responding to The Island query whether the government would go ahead with the Judicature (Amendment) Bill that hadn’t been so far challenged in the Supreme Court, pending the decision on the controversial 22nd Amendment facing tough legal challenge.

Nanayakkara emphasised the importance of the enactment of both Bills. The 22nd Amendment seeks to increase the retirement ages of Supreme Court judges to 67 from 65 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65. The Judicature (Amendment) Bill seeks to increase the retirement ages of the High Court judges to 63 from 61, and that of the District court judges and and Magistrates to 62.

Minister Nanayakkara said that the enactment of both Bills simultaneously would make a significant contribution to improve the overall situation, particularly dealing with a backlog of 1.1 million cases.

Joint Opposition and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), too, acknowledged that petitions against the Judicature (Amendment) Bill were yet to be filed.

News

U.S. Ambassador designate to Sri Lanka Eric Meyer here

Published

7 hours ago

2026/08/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

U.S. Ambassador-designate Eric Meyer arrived in Colombo on the evening of August 22, 2026, to assume duties as his country’s next Ambassador to Sri Lanka., the embassy said.

Ambassador-designate Meyer expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity to serve as the 29th U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka, stating: “It is an honour to represent the United States in Sri Lanka. I look forward to building on the strong foundation between our two democracies to advance a U.S.-Sri Lanka partnership that creates new opportunities for American businesses, furthers our shared security interests, and delivers greater prosperity for both Americans and Sri Lankans.”

Prior to his assignment in Sri Lanka, he served as Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., at the U.S. Mission to Norway and, before that, as Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State.

News

GL alleges Justice Minister committed contempt of court by ruling out referendum

Published

7 hours ago

2026/08/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof. G.L. Peiris, flanked by former parliamentarians Patali Champika Ranawaka and Dr. Suren Ragavan addresses the media at ex-President Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Joint Opposition yesterday questioned Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara’s recent declaration that a referendum wouldn’t be held to decide the fate of the 22 Amendment.

Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris took exception to Nanayakkara’s statement. Addressing the media at former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office, Prof. Peiris said that the Supreme Court was still in the process of receiving petitions against the 22n Amendment to the Constitution.

In fact, petitions could be filed over a period of two weeks from the day the amendment bill was presented to parliament, Prof. Peiris said. Minister Nanayakkara tabled the bill on 18 August.

The convenor of the Joint Opposition asked how Minister Nanayakkara predicted that there wouldn’t be a referendum even before the end of the two week period allocated for the public to submit petitions. The Supreme Court decision would be made known to the Speaker within three weeks, Prof. Peiris said, declaring that the Justice Minister shouldn’t consider the Supreme Court as a rubber stamp of the government.

The former parliamentarian emphasized that the NPP government couldn’t under any circumstances intervene in the process undertaken by the Supreme Court. Referring to the growing number of petitions filed against the 22 Amendment, Prof. Peiris said that all petitioners agreed that the matter should be decided at a referendum.

Prof. Peiris alleged that the Justice Minister ruling out a referendum was contempt of court. He reiterated the call for all sitting Supreme Court judges to hear the petitions. Commenting on three Amendments before the Supreme Court namely the 22 Amendment to extend the retirement ages of superior court judges, Judicature (Amendment) Bill to extend the retirement ages of High Court, District Court and Magistrate court judges and amendments to the Anti-Corruption Act, Prof. Peiris alleged that the government was creating an environment to divide the available Supreme Court judges to deal with all three, simultaneously.

Prof. Peiris said that this was done deliberately to manipulate the process to facilitate the government initiative. Although the Supreme Court consists of 17 judges, including the Chief Justice, four vacancies remained for several months.

The ex-minister appreciated the clergy representing all faiths declaring opposition to the 22 Amendment.