Sri Lanka: 14 convicted over Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279

Security personnel stand guard outside Colombo High Court after escorting the accused involved in Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday attacks of 2019, during the verdict in the trial in Colombo on September 22, 2026.

Sri Lanka's High Court convicted on Tuesday 14 of the 24 men accused of being directly involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which killed 279 people.

The three-judge bench found that 14 of the accused were guilty on all charges, which included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, while nine others were acquitted.

The presiding judge told a packed courtroom that sentencing would take place later on Tuesday. Dozens of police commandos provided security outside as the verdicts were read.

The 24 men were accused of aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who struck three luxury hotels and three churches on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people, including 45 foreigners.

Local media has said some could face the death penalty, although Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976 and capital punishment is typically commuted to life imprisonment.

"Finally, we have justice," Catholic priest Jude Fernando told AFP. "It has taken a long time to get to this point."

Teresa Fernando, a survivor who suffered head injuries, said no one should have to endure what she had gone through.

"We came here today as victims of this attack to receive justice," she said.

It was the first criminal prosecution directly linked to the coordinated bombings, though a former police chief and an ex-security chief were sentenced to death in July for criminal negligence after failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence warnings.

All of the accused are from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community. Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one defendant died in custody.

Investigators blamed the attack on a homegrown Islamist extremist group.

The trial had already made Sri Lankan legal history, with prosecutors filing 23,270 charges, the most ever brought in a single case. The suspects were prosecuted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.