Sri Lanka ex-police chief and defence secretary sentenced to death
A High Court in Colombo on Friday sentenced former police chief Pujith Jayasundera and ex-defence ministry secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death after finding them guilty of criminal dereliction of duty for not acting on prior intelligence before the April 19, 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The coordinated suicide attacks killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners. The two had been arrested in 2019, later released on bail, and were acquitted in February 2022 before the attorney general appealed and the Supreme Court ordered the case revived in November 2024; one judge dissented in the current ruling.
Two former senior officials sentenced to death for 2019 security failures
Context
In 2019 there were coordinated suicide bombings that killed many people. The two officials were first arrested then acquitted in 2022. The Supreme Court revived the case in 2024 and the High Court has now sentenced them, which may lead to…
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