Who will suffer after swallowing the 'King's Rope'?
Former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defense Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando have been sentenced to death.
A three-member High Court bench handed down the death sentence yesterday (31). The charges against them include failure to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorist attack, dereliction of duty and criminal negligence. They were found guilty.
There were several key factors that the court considered in imposing the death sentence.
One of these factors was the fact that intelligence information had been received prior to the attack. The court considered that warnings of an attack had been received in advance from sources including Indian intelligence agencies.
Another factor considered was non-performance of duty. The court ruled that the necessary steps, such as coordinating security forces, protecting churches and other targets, and arresting suspects, were not taken properly after receiving intelligence information.
The court noted that due to that oversight, more than 260 people died and five hundred were injured on April 21, 2019, which had serious consequences.
The court considered this oversight not to be an ordinary administrative offense, but as a criminal liability under the criminal law and as a serious dereliction of duty.
Regarding the Easter attacks,
The 2021 Presidential Commission of Inquiry had recommended that criminal action be considered against several officials, including former President Maithripala Sirisena.
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in its fundamental rights judgment of 12 January 2023, ruled that former President Maithripala Sirisena and several officials had violated fundamental rights for failing to prevent the Easter Sunday attacks.
Accordingly, Maithripala Sirisena was ordered to pay personal damages of Rs. 100 million, former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara Rs. 75 million, former State Intelligence Service Chief Nilantha Jayawardena
Rs. 75 million, former Defense Ministry Secretary Hemasiri Fernando
Rs. 50 million and former National Intelligence Chief Sisira Mendis Rs. 10 million.
In this judgment, the Supreme Court stated that the fundamental rights to life and security of the victims were violated by not acting on intelligence information despite receiving it.
This was a fundamental rights case, not a criminal case.
The Catholic Church and the victims’ side have been continuously demanding that criminal cases be filed against Maithripala Sirisena and others.
In the Supreme Court’s (2023) Fundamental Rights case, the Supreme Court also found former State Intelligence Service Chief Nilantha Jayawardena liable. Accordingly, he was ordered to pay personal damages of Rs. 75 million.
A criminal case was filed against Pujitha Jayasundara and Hemasiri Fernando, and they have both been sentenced to death.
Although Maithripala Sirisena was found liable in the fundamental rights case, he was not a defendant in the criminal case. Similarly, Nilantha Jayawardena was also found liable in the fundamental rights case, but he was not a defendant in the criminal case against Pujitha and Hemasiri. The Attorney General’s Department has not yet released a detailed official explanation on this.
If the Supreme Court decided that Maithripala and Nilantha were responsible, why did the Attorney General not file criminal cases against them as well? There is no official full reason for this.
The Attorney General’s decision to file charges depends on the evidence, the applicable laws and the discretion to file cases. However, since the detailed legal reasons that led to that decision have not been made public, no specific reason has been stated so far as to why criminal cases were not filed against them.
This is a legal process that depends on the Attorney General’s decision to file charges and the evidence available, and the full facts that led to that decision have not yet been officially released.
However, since the death penalty has not been implemented in Sri Lanka since 1976, this sentence will not be carried out immediately. According to the normal legal procedure, this death sentence is converted into a life sentence. Furthermore, both of them have the legal right to appeal this decision to the Court of Appeal and, if necessary, the Supreme Court.
Although royal association is a way to shine for a while, it is good for everyone to understand that after swallowing the 'royal rope', there is a 'royal pain'.
Raigam Kankanamge Anjana✍️
