The court ruled that former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and ex-defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando failed to act despite receiving warnings about a possible attack.
Former police chief Pujith Jayasundara (R) and former defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando (L) are taken to prison after receiving death sentence, in Colombo on Jul 31, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Ishara S. Kodikara)
01 Aug 2026 04:26AM
COLOMBO: A Sri Lanka court sentenced two ex-security officials to death on Friday (Jul 31) for failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people including 45 foreigners.In a majority decision, a three-judge bench ruled that former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and former defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando failed in their duties to stop the deadly attacks, blamed on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.Jayasundara, 66, and Fernando, 76, can appeal against the sentence in the Supreme Court, but have been remanded to judicial custody until granted bail.Sri Lanka has not carried out the death sentence since 1976, maintaining an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment.There are at least 800 people on death row, according to government figures shared with parliament in February, with sentences usually commuted to life imprisonment.Friday's judgement at the special fast-track court came after the state appealed against a 2022 decision that acquitted the duo.The court was told during the proceedings that an Indian intelligence agency had alerted Sri Lanka on April 4, 2019 to a possible suicide attack by Islamist extremists, but authorities failed to take action.
