Sri Lanka Court Convicts 14 Men Over 2019 Easter Bombings

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Colombo: A Sri Lankan High Court convicted 14 of 24 persons accused in the 2019 Easter Sunday explosions, which killed hundreds and stunned the island nation. According to the local station News 1st, nine accused were found not guilty.

The verdict was announced by the three-member Colombo High Court Trial-at-Bar following a trial comprising 23,270 charges. More than 2,300 prosecution witnesses testified during the roughly five-year process.

Three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa were the targets of the coordinated attacks on April 21, 2019. The bombs, which killed 279 people, including 45 foreign nationals, were carried out by a local Islamist extremist group.

Prosecutors identified Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufar, also known as Naufar Maulavi, as a crucial member of the network, and he was one of those tried. Conspiracy, aiding and abetting terrorism, explosives offenses, and crimes involving guns were among the charges brought against the defendants.

The decision represents a significant advancement in Sri Lanka's attempts to prosecute individuals responsible for the assaults. Alleged intelligence lapses and allegations of potential connections between state actors and those involved in the bombings are still the subject of separate investigations.