Sri Lanka arrests ex-intelligence chief over 2019 Easter bombings

Easter attacks killed 279 and injured around 500 people

Demonstrators holding placards attend a protest to demand justice for the Apr 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attack, on the third anniversary of this attack, near the Presidential Secretariat, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Apr 17, 2022. REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar/

Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department arrested on Wednesday the country's former intelligence chief in connection with the Easter bombings of 2019 that killed 279 people.

A police spokesman said retired Major-General Suresh Sallay had been taken into custody for questioning in Colombo under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) , but would not elaborate on the specific reason for the arrest.

"We are awaiting instructions from the CID on specific charges. He has been arrested in connection with the Easter attacks and will be presented in a court of law," the spokesman said.

Sallay, who was appointed to head Sri Lanka's State Intelligence Service in late 2019 by then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, could not be reached for comment in custody and does not have a lawyer yet. At the time of the bombings, Sallay occupied a senior post in the armed forces.

He has previously denied any wrongdoing when several media reports, including by Britain's Channel 4 in 2023, alleged that he had links to the bombers and permitted the attacks to proceed with the intention of influencing 2019's presidential election in favour of Rajapaksa.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected in 2024, has pledged to prosecute wrongdoers.

The string of attacks carried out on Apr 21, 2019, Easter Sunday, targeted three churches and three hotels. The attacks, the worst in Sri Lanka’s turbulent history, also injured about 500 people, mostly belonging to the island’s minority Christian community.

A Sri Lankan court is also conducting hearings involving several others accused of being linked to the attacks.