Sri Lanka Sentences 15 Convicts Over 2019 Easter Sunday Attacks

A court in Sri Lanka has sentenced 15 people convicted in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks to prison terms of up to 260 years, in what has been described as the final judgment in the case.

The Easter Sunday attacks involved a series of coordinated suicide bombings targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka in April 2019, killing at least 250 people and injuring hundreds more in one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history.

The verdict marks the conclusion of a lengthy legal process to hold accountable individuals found to have been involved in planning or facilitating the attacks, which were claimed by a local extremist group with alleged links to ISIL (ISIS).

The attacks prompted significant scrutiny of Sri Lanka's security services over intelligence failures that preceded the bombings, and led to broader debates about religious extremism and interfaith relations in the country.

Sri Lankan authorities have described the sentencing as an important step toward justice for victims and their families more than six years after the attacks occurred.