Easter Sunday Attacks: Former Defence Secretary Makes Serious Claims in Court

Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando has stated in court that he believes former President Maithripala Sirisena was aware of the intelligence information prior to the Easter Sunday attacks.

He made these remarks while giving evidence in the ongoing court case related to allegations of negligence in preventing the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.

Hemasiri Fernando further stated that he believes the then Director of the State Intelligence Service, Nilantha Jayawardena, was also aware of the intelligence reports and had acted to conceal them.

He told the court that despite serving as the Defence Secretary, he has been dragged into the case while those responsible remain at large. He also added that if the information he provided had been properly investigated at the time, legal action against him would not have been taken.

The case continues in court as investigations proceed into the failure of intelligence and security measures before the attacks.