The Colombo Special Trial-at-Bar High Court has sentenced 15 individuals convicted in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks to over 200 years of rigorous imprisonment each. In addition to the prison terms, the three-judge bench ordered the confiscation of all movable and immovable property belonging to the convicted individuals. The final sentencing was handed down around 10:30 PM on the day of the verdict.
The prison terms varied in duration among the convicted group. One defendant received a maximum sentence of 260 years of rigorous imprisonment, while four others were sentenced to 240 years each. Another five convicts were handed 220-year terms, and the remaining five were each sentenced to 200 years.
The Attorney General had initially filed over 23,270 charges against 24 defendants, accusing them of conspiring, aiding, and abetting the devastating 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The massive legal proceeding was heard by a three-member Trial-at-Bar comprising High Court Judges A. Navaratne Marasinghe, Ramanathan Kannan, and Sujeewa Nishshanka. During the trial, 2,309 witnesses provided testimony for the prosecution. One of the original 24 defendants, Yasin Bawa Abdul Rauf, died in prison custody while the trial was ongoing.
The 15 individuals found guilty and sentenced are Mohamed Ibrahim Mohamed Naufer (alias Naufer Moulavi), Mohamed Saribu Adam Lebbe (Abu Hadik), Hayatu Mohamed Ahmed Milhan (Abu Silla), Mohamed Ibrahim Sadiq Abdullah (Abu Umar), Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Haq (Abu Fala), Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan (Abu Tariq), Mohamed Mansoor Mohamed Sanasdeen (Abu Mizan), Abdul Manaf Mohamed Firdaus, Mohamed Rameesh Mohamed Sarik, Abdul Latheef Mohamed Safi (Safi Moulavi), Husseinul Rizvi Mohamed Kahir Sameer, Mohamed Hanifa Zainul Abdeen (Abu Hina), Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Haris (Abu Nanjiyar), Rasik Rasa Hussain, and Kachchi Mohamed Jasmin.
Conversely, the court acquitted and discharged the remaining nine defendants. The acquitted individuals are Mohamed Zaheer Mohamed Hassan (Abu Dawud), Mohamed Iftikar Mohamed Insaf (Abu), Rashid Mohamed Ibrahim, Zainul Abdeen Mohamed Jaseem, Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Rizwan, Meera Sahib Mohamed Nafli (Abu Sana), Mohamed Amir Mohamed Ayatullah, Mohamed Ansardeen Mohamed Ilmi, and Mohamed Akram Ahakkam.
