Easter Sunday Attacks: Compensation deadline given to Maithripala and others expires on July 12, 2023

The time period given to former Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena and other accused persons to pay compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks expires on Wednesday (July 12, 2023).

On January 12 2023, the Supreme Court found that former President Maithripala Sirisena and other officials had violated the fundamental rights of the people by failing to take action to prevent the Easter Sunday terror attacks despite receiving sufficient intelligence information.

Accordingly, in a verdict on January 12, 2023 the Supreme Court ordered former President Sirisena to pay a sum of Rs. 100 million while former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former SIS director Nilantha Jayawardhane were ordered to pay Rs. 75 million each as compensation, former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was ordered to pay Rs. 50 million and former National Intelligence chief Sisira Mendis was ordered to pay Rs.10 million within four months from January 12 2023.

However, according to reports, none of the accused has credited the amount to the bank account specifically set up for this purpose.

In the event they fail to comply with the Supreme Court’s order and to deposit the money before the deadline, it would be deemed a contempt of court.

The Easter Sunday terror attacks, the worst attacks in Sri Lanka since the civil war ended in 2009, took place on Easter Sunday in 2019, targeting three churches and three luxury hotels across Sri Lanka, killing 270 people and injuring over 500.