September 22, Colombo (LNW): Fifteen of the 24 accused in the long-running case linked to Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks have been found guilty, while the remaining nine defendants have been acquitted and released.
The judgment was delivered by a three-member Trial-at-Bar comprising High Court Judges Navaratne Marasinghe, Ramanathan Kannan and Sujeewa Nissanka.
Among those facing charges was Naufar Maulavi. The 24 defendants were collectively prosecuted on 23,270 charges, including allegations of conspiracy and aiding and abetting the attacks.
The court is expected to proceed with sentencing those convicted shortly.
The case reached its judgment stage after nearly five years of proceedings. The Trial-at-Bar had concluded the hearings on August 24 and subsequently fixed today for the delivery of its verdict.
The prosecution presented evidence from 2,309 witnesses during the extensive trial. One of the 24 accused died before the proceedings were completed.
The Easter Sunday attacks, which targeted churches and hotels across Sri Lanka in April 2019, resulted in hundreds of deaths and became one of the country’s most significant terrorism cases in recent years.