The highest court in Sri Lanka started legal action against a former intelligence officer for not providing full compensation

The highest court in Sri Lanka has started legal action against a former intelligence officer for not providing full compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, which resulted in numerous fatalities.

On Sept. 27, a seven-judge panel of the Supreme Court requested Nilantha Jayawardena, the ex-chief of State Intelligence Service (SIS), to attend a court hearing scheduled for Oct. 7.

Jayawardena was required to compensate the Easter attack victims with 75 million rupees, but his lawyer stated in court that he has only paid 10 million rupees at this point.

After considering 13 petitions from victims and their families on January 12th of last year, the Supreme Court ruled that politicians and government officials, including former President Maithripala Srisena, must pay a significant penalty for their inability to stop the attacks despite receiving prior intelligence warnings.

Srisena, who was also the defense minister, settled the 100-million-rupee fine levied against him.

Three additional officials also covered the fines that were imposed on them. Pujith Jayasundera, the police inspector general, contributed 75 million rupees, Hemasiri Fernando, the ex-defense secretary, contributed 50 million rupees, and Sisira Mendis, the former intelligence chief, contributed 10 million rupees.

The funds were supposed to be placed into the Office for Reparations in Sri Lanka.

Nine suicide attackers from a local Islamist group called National Thawheed Jamaat, affiliated with ISIS, executed a string of fatal explosions at three Catholic churches and three upscale hotels on April 21, 2019, resulting in the deaths of 279 individuals, including foreigners, and leaving over 500 others wounded.

The most recent court session occurred following the new government’s commitment to initiate a new investigation into the terrorist attack, as Church officials claimed previous investigations failed to uncover the political plot behind the crime.

Following inauguration, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the new President, visited Ranjith on September 23rd. Afterwards, Ranjith informed journalists that the president promised a comprehensive investigation into the Easter Sunday bombings.

Father Cyril Gamini Fernando, who represents the Colombo archdiocese and was present at the court hearing on Sept. 27, stated that the Church would persist in its efforts to seek justice for the victims.

Fernando stated to journalists outside the courthouse that there was unmistakably “a political conspiracy.”

The government carried out multiple investigations, yet Church officials claim that the politicians who intentionally permitted the crime remain free.

END.