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Easter Sunday blasts: Sri Lanka's court names ex-president Maithripala Sirisena as suspect; summons him on Oct 14

Maithripala Sirisena is accused of turning a blind eye to warnings about the impending attacks and not ordering preventive measures as a result of political differences with Ranil Wickremesinghe.

TN World Desk

Updated Sep 16, 2022, 20:18 IST

File pic: Former Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena

Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

On the third anniversary of the Easter terror attack in April, the-then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa vowed that the Sri Lankan government would not rest until justice was served to those responsible for the 2019 attacks
The following month, Mahinda had to resign due to massive protests against him
Led by Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Easter attacks victims' families have criticised the slow pace of investigations

Colombo: A court in Sri Lanka on Friday named former president Maithripala Sirisena as a suspect in the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

Three churches - two Catholic and one Protestant - were attacked by suicide bombers during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Also attacked were three tourist hotels, killing 42 foreigners, including 11 Indians, from 14 countries.

More than 260 people were killed.

The Colombo Fort magistrate's court said that Sirisena's negligence contributed to the near-simultaneous blasts in three churches and three hotels in 2019, reported news agency PTI. Sirisena has also been accused of not ordering preventive action because of political differences with his then prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

In response to a complaint filed by Archdiocese of Colombo spokesperson Reverend Father Cyril Gamini Fernando and Jesuraj Ganeshan, the court issued a summons to the ex-president to appear on October 14.

Although authorities have filed charges against a number of people allegedly involved in the attacks, the local Catholic church believes that the real culprits may still be at large.

Notably, the former president was also held responsible for the attack by a probe committee he was forced to appoint as a result of pressure from the Catholic Church and the victims' families.

He, however, denied the allegation.

Sri Lanka was devastated by a series of suicide bombings on April 21, 2019, in which nine bombers affiliated with National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ), a local Islamist extremist group linked to the Islamic State group, attacked three churches and as many luxury hotels.

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