The sentencing details for the 15 defendants convicted in the main Trial-at-Bar connected to Sri Lanka's 2019 Easter Sunday attacks have now been clarified by detailed court reporting.
The defendants received terms of rigorous imprisonment ranging from 200 to 260 years.
The distribution was:
- five defendants — 200 years each
- five defendants — 220 years each
- four defendants — 240 years each
- one defendant — 260 years
The court also ordered confiscation of the movable and immovable property belonging to the 15 convicted defendants.
### Earlier discrepancy resolved
Sineth News initially reported the convictions without presenting an exact sentence schedule because early reports conflicted.
One early report said all 15 defendants had received 220 years each, while other reports indicated different sentences ranging from 200 to 260 years.
More detailed subsequent court reporting now consistently identifies the distribution as five receiving 200 years, five receiving 220 years, four receiving 240 years and one receiving 260 years.
The article should therefore replace the previous unresolved-sentence section with the confirmed distribution above.
### Convictions and acquittals unchanged
The Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar convicted 15 of the 24 defendants in the case and acquitted and released nine.
The Attorney General had filed 23,270 charges against the defendants, including allegations relating to conspiracy and aiding and abetting the attacks.
### Defendants were not the suicide bombers
The convicted defendants should not be described as the suicide bombers who directly carried out the Easter Sunday attacks.
The suicide attackers died during the coordinated attacks in April 2019.
The present convictions relate to offences including conspiracy, assistance and related involvement established by the Trial-at-Bar.