斯里兰卡法院于2026年8月1日判处前警察局长普吉特·杰亚松达拉和前国防部秘书赫马西里·费尔南多死刑[1]。两人被控对2019年复活节爆炸袭击失职负责，该事件造成260多人丧生，包括两名澳大利亚人[1]，另有500多人在袭击中受伤[1]。
印度情报机构曾在爆炸发生前数周就向斯里兰卡发出关于可能自杀式恐怖袭击的警告[1]。尼甘布教堂是此次袭击的主要目标之一，位于科伦坡北部[1]。两名澳大利亚受害者为玛尼克·苏里亚拉奇及其女儿亚历山德里亚[1]。
法院判决两被告需向袭击幸存者支付1.25亿卢比（约531,800美元）的民事赔偿[1]。两人可向最高法院提起上诉[1]，目前已被还押候审[1]。值得注意的是，斯里兰卡自1976年以来未曾执行死刑，两被告最终可能被判处终身监禁[1]。此前在2022年，一个三法官高等法院曾对两被告作出无罪裁定[1]。
A Sri Lankan court sentenced two senior officials to death on August 1, 2026, for their failure to prevent the devastating 2019 Easter bombing attacks.[1] Former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara, 66, and former Defense Secretary Hemapala Fernando, 76, were found responsible for not stopping the coordinated suicide bombings despite advance warnings.[1]
The Easter Sunday attacks claimed more than 260 lives, including two Australian citizens—Manicc Suriarachchi and his daughter Alexandria—and left over 500 people injured.[1] Indian intelligence agencies had alerted Sri Lankan authorities weeks before the attacks about the potential suicide terror threat.[1] The bombings targeted multiple locations, including churches, with one attack occurring at a church in Negombo, north of Colombo.[1]
Both officials were also ordered to pay 125 million rupees (approximately $531,800 USD) in civil compensation to survivors of the attacks.[1] The pair retain the right to appeal to the country's Supreme Court.[1] However, since Sri Lanka has not carried out executions since 1976, they may face life imprisonment instead of the death sentence.[1] This verdict reverses a 2022 high court ruling by three judges that had acquitted both men of the charges.[1]