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Sirisena et al. given final date in May to file Easter case statements 

16 Mar 2022

BY Buddhika Samaraweera Colombo Additional District Judge Chathurika de Silva has given a last date to the defendants, including former President and incumbent Government Parliamentarian Maithripala Sirisena, who have been named as respondents in 109 cases filed seeking compensation for the victims of the Easter Sunday terror attacks of 21 April 2019, to file statements. The respondents were scheduled to submit the statements yesterday (16), but de Silva gave them a last date as they had not filed such. Accordingly, de Silva adjourned the cases until 2 May and the respondents were ordered to submit the statements on that day. Several victims and members of families of those affected due to the said terror attacks have filed a total of 109 cases in the Colombo District Court, seeking compensation from the respondents for the damage caused to them due to the respondents’ failure to take action to prevent the terror attacks despite having received prior intelligence information. Among the respondents are Sirisena, former Prime Minister and incumbent Opposition MP Ranil Wickremesinghe, former Defence Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara, and former State Intelligence Service Director Nilantha Jayawardena. On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches (St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya, St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade, and Zion Church in Batticaloa) and three luxury hotels in Colombo (Cinnamon Grand Colombo, The Kingsbury Colombo, and Shangri-La Colombo) were targeted in a series of co-ordinated suicide bombings. Later that day, another two bomb explosions took place at a house in Dematagoda and the Tropical Inn Lodge in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people excluding the bombers were killed in the bombings, including about 45 foreign nationals, while at least 500 were injured. 


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