Fifteen guilty in 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings: What the verdict says

Fifteen of the 24 people accused of being directly involved in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka have been found guilty of charges including murder and conspiracy to commit terrorism.

Here’s what the verdict says, how the legal case unfolded and what we know about whether the government failed to act on intelligence prior to the bombings taking place.

The three-judge bench in Sri Lanka’s High Court has found that 14 of the accused were guilty on all charges , which included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

A 15th defendant was found guilty of only some of the charges, while nine others were acquitted of any charges related to aiding and abetting the suicide bombers.

Twenty-five men were originally charged, but one defendant died in custody.

Police had filed more than 23,000 charges against the suspects, all of whom denied involvement.

The presiding judge told the court that sentencing would be delivered later on Tuesday.

Six almost simultaneous bombings struck churches and hotels on Easter Sunday in 2019, killing 279 people and marking the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009.