File photo of people lighting candles during a vigil in memory of the victims of a string of suicide bomb attacks across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka onApril 28, 2019.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Colombo: Sri Lanka's Supreme Court was on Friday informed the former police chief of the state intelligence service will face contempt charges for his failure to pay a compensation of Rs 75 million to the victims of Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019.
Nilantha Jayawardena, former Senior DIG and head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), has been asked to appear in court on October 7.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court ordered several former government officials, including former president Maithripala Sirisena and Nilantha Jayawardena, to compensate the victims for failing to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence warnings.
The court ordered the former government officials to pay varying amounts in compensation, after taking into consideration petitions filed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, families of the victims, Catholic priests, and others, which were heard by a seven-member bench led by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
Sirisena and two others asked to pay have already completed payments, the Attorney General told the court.
In July 2024, SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena was also placed on compulsory leave in connection to the investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks that left more than 250 persons, including foreigners, dead.