Sri Lankans whose families were devastated by the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings have welcomed a court ruling convicting 15 people over the attacks, while saying they will feel justice has been fully served only when those accused of being behind the plot are held accountable.

The coordinated suicide bombings on April 21, 2019, targeted three churches and three luxury hotels across Sri Lanka. The attacks, inspired by the Islamic State group, killed 279 people, including 45 foreign nationals, and injured more than 500 others.

Among the victims was Kanishka Hirushi, the 13-year-old daughter of tuk-tuk driver Indika Rohan. Rohan had dropped his wife and daughter outside St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, near Negombo, before returning to his vehicle. He then heard a massive explosion.

Kanishka was among 110 people killed at the church, while Rohan’s wife, Nilanthi Pushpakumari, suffered severe injuries and spent weeks in intensive care.

“My daughter went to the church by tuk-tuk, but returned home by hearse,” Rohan told Al Jazeera as he reacted to the court ruling.

A three-judge High Court panel in Colombo found 15 defendants guilty of more than 23,000 charges, including murder, conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks and possession of firearms and explosives.

The defendants received lengthy prison sentences based on their alleged roles in planning and supporting the attacks. Five were sentenced to 200 years in prison, another five received 220-year sentences, four were sentenced to 240 years each and one received a 260-year sentence.

Nine other defendants were acquitted, while another accused person died during the trial.

The ruling came more than seven years after the attacks and followed years of demands from victims’ families for accountability. Rohan said relatives living overseas had continued asking about the progress of the case.

However, he said the verdict brought only “partial satisfaction” because questions remain over whether others who may have played a role in the attacks will face justice.

Sri Lankan investigations have also examined whether intelligence failures or other political factors contributed to the bombings. A parliamentary inquiry previously found that police and intelligence officials had failed to act on repeated warnings before the attacks.

In 2023, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena and several senior security and intelligence officials to pay compensation to victims for failing to prevent the attacks.

Another case involves Suresh Salley, a former intelligence chief and retired army major general. A whistleblower alleged in 2023 that Salley had met the bombers and had links to them, while also making claims about political motives surrounding the attacks. Salley has denied the allegations.

Salley was arrested in February and is being treated in hospital while under police custody.

In July, former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando were sentenced to death for criminal negligence connected to the bombings. Sri Lanka, however, has not carried out an execution since 1976.

Rohan said he was closely following the case involving Salley and hoped it would establish whether others were responsible for enabling or organizing the attacks.

Sri Lankan human rights activist Ruki Fernando said the case was significant and should proceed to the High Court, arguing that it could potentially establish accountability for people accused of being the masterminds behind the bombings.

The Easter attacks also reopened painful memories of Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war between government forces and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

After President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the 2024 election, he visited St. Sebastian’s Church and met families who had lost relatives in the attacks. He promised a thorough investigation and pledged to examine allegations of political involvement.

Fernando said there appeared to be progress in the continuing investigations and that the government appeared committed to pursuing the case.

For victims’ families such as Rohan’s, however, the search for answers continues. He said he hoped the government would fulfill its promises and deliver justice for those killed and injured in the Easter Sunday bombings.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera, Ashkar Thasleem, September 24, 2026.