• Statement on the Easter Sunday attacks to the UNHRC’s 52nd Session

Franciscans International with the support of the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) would like to draw the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UN HRC) to the situation in Sri Lanka, in particular to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. On 21 April 2019, which was Easter Sunday, three churches and three major hotels in Sri Lanka were attacked by an Islamist terrorist group and around 269 people were killed and more than 500 were injured. However, three years after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks, justice is being delayed for the victims and impunity prevails.

A Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI), a Presidential Committee, and a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) were appointed to investigate the Easter Sunday attacks. The report produced by the Presidential Committee was never published, while the PSC’s report was fully published, and the CoI's report was partially published. On 26 January 2023, the Right to Information Commission directed the Presidential Secretariat to make the Presidential Committee report public before 9 February 2023, after hearing an appeal filed by the CSR. However, none of the major recommendations from the published reports have been implemented to deliver justice for the victims.  

There are several criminal cases filed by the State with regard to the main incidents related to the Easter Sunday attacks, but none of the cases have ended up with a conviction to date, which means that no one has been made accountable for the Easter Sunday attacks as of yet.

The criminal case number (HC [TAB] 2972/21) in the Colombo High Court (HC) against 25 accused related to all the bomb blasts that took place on 21 April 2019, is the main criminal case at present, relating to the Easter Sunday attacks. In this case, indictments containing 23,270 charges were served to the accused on 4 October 2021, before a Trial at Bar. The case has been called several times throughout this period, but for several reasons, including the huge number of charges and various practical difficulties such as the lack of Tamil speaking lawyers and the non-availability of the Tamil translations of the indictments, the trial has not commenced yet. It is due to commence on 28 February 2023. 

Indictments were served on the then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara and then Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando over criminal negligence with respect to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks in two separate Trials at Bar at the Colombo HC under the case numbers (HC [TAB] 2900/21 and HC [TAB] 2899/21). Both accused were acquitted by the Courts on 18 February 2022, even without calling for evidence from the defence.

Several other vital criminal cases were filed in relation to the Easter Sunday attacks, but most of these cases have seen very little progress.

Case No. HC 78/21 was filed in the Puttalam HC against Attorney-at-Law Hejaaz Hizbullah for his alleged connection to the Save the Pearls charity that had ties to one of the attackers of the Easter Sunday attacks. This case is partially heard, and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka observes it. Case No. 188/21 was filed in the Puttalam HC against three Maulvis in relation to the alleged propagating of extremism in a Madrasa school in Puttalam and it is at the pretrial stage.

Case No. 23084/22 was a private complaint filed on 16 September 2022, against former President and Defence Minister and incumbent Opposition Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena in the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court (MC). In this case, the plaintiff has alleged that during the Easter Sunday attacks, the accused has failed to discharge his legal duties as the Minister of Defence. Sirisena filed the case Writ 354/22 on 29 September 2022, in the Court of Appeal, alleging that the order made by the MC in Case No. 23084/22 issuing summons on him to be present before the Colombo Fort MC on 14 October 2022, is illegal and that the private plaint cannot be maintained. Both cases are pending in Courts.

In the Mawanella Case bearing No. HC 4485/21, indictments containing 18 charges were filed against 16 accused related to the vandalism of a Buddha statue in Mawanella. In this case, all the accused pleaded guilty by 18 January 2023, and these accused are members of the terrorist group connected to the Easter Sunday attacks.

Case No. HC 148/2021 was filed against a young poet, Ahnaf Jazeem under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act with regard to a book published by him which was later found in a place that belongs to the Save the Pearls charity that had ties to one of the offenders of the Easter Sunday attacks. This case is pending the commencement of the trial. Moreover, the trial is in the initial stages.

Case No. Puttalam/Tab/107/2021 is against six accused concerning a training camp and explosives relating to the Easter Sunday attacks being discovered in Wanathawilluwa.  

On 20 April 2022, CSR Director Father Rohan Silva, with several other religious figures, filed a formal Police complaint demanding the arrest of the former Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (SDIG) Nilantha Jayawardana, regarding the Easter Sunday attacks. On 21 May 2022, under the instructions of Silva, a lawyer sent a letter to the IGP, Chandana D. Wickramaratne, demanding to take action on the said complaint. The Police have not commenced any investigation regarding the complaint, and the IGP has not even responded to the letter of demand.

In 2019, 12 fundamental rights applications were filed relating to the Easter Sunday attacks by petitioners aggrieved by these attacks. On 12 January 2023, after a lengthy hearing, a full bench of the Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the respondents had violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners. The Court ordered Sirisena to pay Rs. 100 million, Jayasundara and Jayawardana to pay Rs. 75 million each, Fernando to pay Rs. 50 million, former Chief of National Intelligence, DIG Sisira Mendis to pay Rs. 10 million, and the State to pay Rs. 1 million as compensation to the victims. The Court also ordered the State to take disciplinary action against Jayawardana. However, as of today, to the best of our knowledge, none of this has been complied with. We also note that the compensation ordered is relatively low compared to previous compensation amounts awarded by the SC to victims of torture, considering the seriousness of the crimes and the large number of survivors, victims’ families, and affected communities. There is also no direction to prosecute those responsible for the crimes and criminal negligence.

There are 182 civil cases in Negombo and 102 civil cases in Colombo filed for compensation, pending respectively in District Courts, which have been filed by the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, and the cases are still at the initial stages.

Reprisals against those seeking truth and justice for the Easter Sunday attacks have become common during the last three years. One of the specific targets has been Silva. A media report implicated him and two other prominent advocates for seeking justice for the victims of the Easter Sunday attacks, Reverend Father Julian Patrick and Reverend Father Cyril Gamini, of conspiring against the Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith. Outspoken youth activist Shehan Malaka, publicly made an allegation of political conspiracy related to the Easter Sunday attacks. He was later arrested and a case was filed against him in the Colombo HC under Case No. HC 3791/22.

A total of 220 dependents of the persons deceased in the Easter Sunday attacks have received Rs. 1 million for each person from the Sri Lankan Government, but the expenses for the funerals have been deducted from the Rs. 1 million. A total of 508 persons injured during the attacks have received compensation from the Government. The Government has also provided houses for around 19 victims. Churches and other organisations have also provided financial assistance, houses, medical care, psychological care and education to some of the families. However, some victims based in tea estates in the Central Province have not received houses, either from the Government or from other organisations, although they are one of the lowest income groups in the most vulnerable housing situation.

Considering the above, the Franciscans International and the CSR called upon the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) and the Members and observer States of the UN HRC to recommend the following to the Sri Lankan Government: to duly investigate all the complaints submitted to the Police on cases related to the Easter Sunday attacks; take steps to implement the SC judgement in the fundamental rights cases, SCFR 163/2019 and others; to investigate, identify and eventually prosecute all those who planned the Easter Sunday attacks, especially those most responsible, based on principles of command responsibility and who were directly involved as well as those who assisted them; to prosecute all the political leaders, State officials, the Police, and Intelligence Service officials who did not prevent the Easter Sunday attacks; to expedite all Court cases connected to the Easter Sunday attacks; to Include the latest development of the case of the Easter Sunday attacks to the UN HRC in the UNHCR reports and updates; and include the latest developments of the Easter Sunday attacks in the Office of the HCHR evidence gathering project.

The Franciscans International and the CSR called upon UN Member States to: Prosecute the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday attacks in their own jurisdictions; observe significant trials in Sri Lanka related to the said attacks; ensure the protection of activists, witnesses, etc., related to the Easter Sunday attacks; and, In the failure of the proper investigation of the Easter Sunday attacks, urge the Government to obtain the assistance of international investigation mechanisms.

(Franciscans International is an international non-Governmental human rights organisation that promotes and protects human rights and environmental justice while the CSR is a social services organisation.)

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.