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Prosecutors prosecuted the planners suspected of planning the suicide bombing in 2019 and the 24 men they believed were accomplices.
Sri Lankan prosecutors have indicted the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombing and the 24 men who they believed were co-conspirators in the island’s worst single “terrorist” attack.
Nearly 300 people, including dozens of foreigners, were killed in the attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21. This was a wave of killings targeting the Christian communities in Sri Lanka.
The prosecution has filed more than 20,000 charges against the suspects, three of whom have been accused by the U.S. Department of Justice as “terrorism.”
The official said that the suspect has been detained by the police, but one of the suspects did not appear in court on Monday because he has COVID-19, adding that the hearing will begin on November 23.
The prosecutor told the court that forensic experts in the United States and Australia assisted investigators in tracking down the supporters of the eight-person suicide team responsible for the attack.
The Sri Lankan authorities accused their leader, Mohammed Nofar, of being the mastermind of the deadly suicide bombing and a member of the Islamic State of ISIL (ISIS).
Former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and senior defense official Hemasiri Fernando were also charged separately for failing to act on repeated intelligence warnings of possible attacks by the Islamic State.
An investigation by former President Maithripala Sirisena found that he was also responsible for failing to prevent the attack and should be prosecuted.
Cardinal Malcolm Rangis, leader of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka, has repeatedly stated that he is dissatisfied with the lack of progress in the Easter bombing investigation.
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