Families of victims of Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday bombings have expressed renewed hope for justice after police on Wednesday arrested Major General Suresh Sallay, a former top intelligence official, over the coordinated 2019 suicide bombing attacks that killed 279 people.
The suicide bombings targeted three churches and four luxury hotels, and more than 500 people were injured in the attacks, including dozens of foreign nationals. Police said Sallay, who was serving as director of Military Intelligence at the time, was detained for 72 hours under the Prevention of Terrorism Act for questioning.
Catholic leaders and survivors have for years urged successive governments to uncover the full truth behind the attacks and prosecute those responsible. The arrest follows renewed scrutiny after media reports in 2023 cited testimony from a high-level whistleblower alleging possible complicity at senior levels of government.
Investigators are examining whether Sallay was part of a broader conspiracy and whether he failed to act on credible intelligence warnings that might have prevented the bombings. Investigations conducted during former regime led by Rajapaksa made no progress, critics say.
Family members of drug war victims have expressed hope for justice as the International Criminal Court or ICC started the pre-trial hearing of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, accused of overseeing thousands of extrajudicial killings. The hearing at the Hague-based court started on Monday to confirm 80-year-old Duterte’s complicity in shooting down people suspected of being drug users and peddlers. Duterte denied the charges, calling them “outrageous lies.”
The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor released a document that says the former president and some senators and top police officials had approved a “common plan” to “neutralize alleged criminals” through “violent crimes, including murder.”
Earlier, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber dismissed a series of motions from Duterte’s defense team, allegedly aimed at delaying and derailing the confirmation of charges and the trial itself. Also, the court had denied their motion asking to disqualify three lawyers representing the victims and to disclose more personal information on several prosecution witnesses.
Duterte faces the charge of crimes against humanity for a series of extrajudicial killings during his tenure as the mayor of Davo city about 22 years and president from 2016 to 2022.
With thanks to Union of Catholic Asian (UCA) News where this article originally appeared.
