15 convicted in Easter Sunday attacks sentenced to between 200 and 260 years of rigorous imprisonment

The Colombo High Court’s Permanent Trial-at-Bar has sentenced the 15 people convicted in the Easter Sunday attacks case to prison terms ranging from 200 to 260 years of rigorous imprisonment.

The court delivered the sentences on Tuesday night (September 22), after finding 15 of the 24 accused guilty in connection with the 2019 terrorist attacks.

The court also ordered the confiscation of the movable and immovable assets belonging to the convicted individuals.

Background

On April 21, 2019, coordinated suicide bombings struck three churches and three hotels in Sri Lanka during Easter Sunday services and celebrations.

The attacks killed more than 260 people, including foreign nationals, and injured hundreds, making them among the deadliest terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka’s history.

Sri Lankan authorities linked the bombings to local Islamist extremist networks, notably National Thowheeth Jama’ath.

The case

The Attorney General filed 23,270 charges against the 24 accused, including allegations of conspiracy, aiding and abetting, murder, attempted murder, and offences involving firearms, explosives and ammunition under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

A total of 2,309 prosecution witnesses testified in the case.

Hearings concluded on August 24, 2026, after which the Trial-at-Bar fixed September 22 as the date for the verdict, which was delivered by a three-judge Trial-at-Bar comprising High Court Judges Navaratne Marasinghe, Ramanathan Kannan and Sujeewa Nissanka.

The accused

Among those convicted was Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufar, also known as Naufar Mawlavi, whom prosecutors identified as a key figure in the alleged conspiracy.

The other accused who were found guilty:
2. Mohamed Saribu Adham Lebbe
3. Hayathu Mohamed Ahmed Milhan
4. Mohamed Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah
5. Mohamed Ibrahim Hafiz Abdul Haq
6. Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Rizkan
7. Mohamed Mansoor Mohamed Sanasdeen
8. Abdul Manaf Mohamed Firdous
9. Mohamed Rameez Mohamed Saajith
10. Abdul Latheef Mohamed Safi
11. Husainul Rizvi Khalid Sameer
12. Mohamed Hanifa Zainul Abdeen
13. Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Haris
14. Razik Raza Hussain
15. Kachchi Mohamed Mohamed Jemsith

Reports said that the Trial-at-Bar sentenced five of the convicts to 200 years rigorous imprisonment each, five to 220 years each, four to 240 years each and one to 260 years.