Former President Maithripala Sirisena has made a partial payment of Rs. 15 million towards the total compensation settlement of Rs. 100 million for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka. However, he has filed a motion before the Supreme Court seeking additional time to settle the remaining Rs. 85 million.
In a similar vein, former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara has contributed Rs. 1.75 million out of the total Rs. 75 million compensation. Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando has settled Rs. 1 million from his compensation amount of Rs. 50 million. Former National Intelligence Director Sisira Mendis has paid Rs. 5 million from his total sum of Rs. 10 million.
Conversely, former State Intelligence Services Chief Nilantha Jayawardena has not made any payments from his compensation sum of Rs. 75 million.
These former state officials were instructed by the Supreme Court to deposit their respective settlements into a compensation fund designated for the victims and families affected by the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The deadline for these payments was set for July 12, 2023. The verdict was reached following the hearing of 12 petitions filed by various parties, including the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the victims’ families, Catholic priests, and others. The proceedings were presided over by a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
