Sri Lankan Court Sentences Two Former Security Chiefs to Death

A High Court in Colombo sentenced Pujith Jayasundara, the former Inspector General of Police, and Hemasiri Fernando, the former Defense Ministry Secretary, to death on August 1, 2026. The court found both officials guilty of criminal negligence and dereliction of duty for failing to act on multiple intelligence warnings before the April 21, 2019, Easter Sunday bombings. The attacks, inspired by the Islamic State, targeted three churches and three hotels, killing between 260 and 279 people and injuring more than 500.

The court determined that the officials ignored alerts, including a specific warning from an Indian intelligence agency on April 4, 2019, and warnings from the State Intelligence Service. The ruling followed a state appeal of a 2022 decision that had previously acquitted both men. The death penalty was issued by a three-judge panel in a 2-1 majority decision; Judge Viraj Weerasuriya dissented, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

Lawyer Chaminda Athukorale announced that the convicts will appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court within two weeks. Despite the sentences, Sri Lanka has maintained an unofficial moratorium on executions since 1976. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake supports this moratorium, meaning the death sentences are typically commuted to life imprisonment.