In a historic and unprecedented legal outcome, the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar today sentenced former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando to death for failing to take preventative action despite receiving advance intelligence warnings prior to the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
The verdict follows the sentencing earlier today of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara, who received the death penalty in the same landmark case.
Both high-ranking former security officials were prosecuted by the Attorney General on charges of criminal negligence and breach of official duty for failing to prevent the coordinated terrorist attacks that claimed over 260 lives and injured hundreds.
