Sri Lanka says former spy chief ‘directed’ Easter bombings

COLOMBO (AFP)- Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister told Parliament on June 10 that the nation’s former intelligence chief directed the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, in the first official statement linking him directly to bombings that killed 279 people.

Minister Ananda Wijepala said Major-General (Ret) Suresh Sallay, who was arrested in February on accusations of “aiding and abetting” the attack, had identified a Catholic church to be bombed.

Sri Lanka’s worst single terror attack against civilians involved bombings against three upmarket hotels in the capital, two Roman Catholic churches and an evangelical Protestant church outside Colombo.

“Investigations have revealed that retired Major-General Tuan Suresh Sallay conspired with and strategically directed Islamic extremists until they carried out the attacks,” Wijepala said.

“Just three weeks prior to the attack, Sallay met Muslim men to obtain details of the location and the congregation,” the minister added.

Sallay, through his lawyer, has denied any involvement.

Wijepala said Sallay was admitted to the hospital on June 7 after launching a hunger strike while being detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Opposition activists have been demonstrating in the capital demanding his release from custody.

Following Sallay’s interrogation, investigators have secured court orders preventing former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from leaving the island.

Sallay was appointed head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), the country’s main spy agency, in 2019, soon after Rajapaksa became president.

He also headed the military intelligence unit prior to taking over the SIS.

British broadcaster Channel 4 reported in 2023 that Sallay was linked to the Islamists who carried out the suicide bombings and had met them prior to the attack.

A whistleblower told the network that he had permitted the attack to proceed with the intention of influencing that year’s presidential election in favour of Rajapaksa.

Two days after the bombings, Rajapaksa declared his candidacy and went on to win the November vote in a landslide after promising to stamp out Islamist extremism.

The Criminal Investigation Department has stopped short of naming Rajapaksa as a suspect, but official sources said he was likely to be questioned shortly.