Sri Lanka charges ex-intelligence chief Suresh Salley in the 2019 Easter bombings, marking new progress in the seven-year investigation.
Newsroom (12/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) After seven years of national frustration and international scrutiny, Sri Lanka’s prolonged search for accountability in the Easter Sunday bombings has taken a decisive turn. On February 25th, former Major General Suresh Salley, ex-director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), was formally named a suspect in the investigations into the 2019 terror attacks that shook the nation and claimed 269 lives.
The decision was made during a hearing before Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara, marking the first major development in years in one of Sri Lanka’s most traumatic criminal cases. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accused Salley of conspiracy and of facilitating the attacks, either directly or indirectly—charges that carry immense political and institutional weight.
A Long-Stalled Investigation Reignited
The renewed momentum follows revelations from Channel 4’s documentary, “Sri Lanka’s Easter Bombing Dispatches,” which alleged a broader conspiracy behind the 2019 attacks. The documentary suggested the bombings might have been engineered not only as an act of terror but as a means to destabilize the country’s political order and reshape the national security agenda.
According to the CID’s progress report presented in court, investigators uncovered several alleged links between Salley and those behind the attacks. They claim Salley had prior knowledge of extremist preacher Zahran Hashim’s network, the group believed responsible for orchestrating the coordinated explosions that targeted churches and luxury hotels on April 21, 2019—including the deadly blast at St. Sebastian’s Church in Katuwapitiya.
Key Questions Over Intelligence Failures
One of the investigation’s central threads revolves around the mysterious death of Pulastini Rajendran, also known as Sarah Jasmine, considered a vital figure in the extremist network. Though she is believed to have died in the Sainthamaruthu explosion, her body remains unaccounted for, fueling speculation about her actual fate and role in the broader conspiracy.
Testimonies from senior security figures, among them former Police Chief C.D. Wickramaratne and former CID Director Nishantha Soysa, added a new dimension to the case. They alleged that Salley had at times influenced discussions within the National Security Council, including those directly tied to intelligence assessments preceding the attacks.
The magistrate openly questioned how an intelligence officer could have wielded such power—specifically, the authority to summon the Police Chief before the National Security Council. Investigators responded that such meetings are constitutionally convened only by the President, based on recommendations from the SIS director.
Defense Denial and Legal Uncertainty
Salley’s defense team, led by Attorney Anuja Premaratne, rejected all charges as “baseless and politically motivated.” Premaratne presented documentation showing that Salley was in Malaysia at the time of the attacks and emphasized that much of the evidence had already been scrutinized in previous Supreme Court proceedings.
In his remarks, Magistrate Neththikumara acknowledged that the charges appeared to relate directly to the terrorist acts of Easter Sunday, rather than to mere administrative lapses or intelligence failures. However, he cautioned that the court must await further investigations and corroborative evidence before determining the extent of criminal responsibility.
Toward a Long-Awaited Reckoning
For a nation still haunted by the images of that Easter morning—families shattered in pews, survivors seeking answers, and institutions accused of negligence—the latest turn in the investigation marks a fragile but significant step toward clarity.
Although much remains uncertain, the formal naming of one of Sri Lanka’s top former intelligence officials signals the possibility of a long-delayed reckoning—one where the truth about the Easter bombings may finally begin to emerge.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Asianews.it
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