Sri Lanka is expected to learn on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, the verdict in the trial of 24 defendants over the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, the deadliest attack on civilians in the country’s history.

The hearing at the Colombo High Court was due to open at 9:30 am local time (0400 GMT), with heavy security around the court complex, according to Agence France-Presse. Prosecutors filed 23,270 charges against the 24 defendants, the highest number ever brought in a single case in Sri Lanka, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of firearms and explosives under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Each defendant faces hundreds of counts because the indictment lists a separate charge for every person killed or wounded. All have denied involvement, and some could face the death penalty, which Sri Lanka has not carried out since 1976 and which is usually commuted to life imprisonment. Prosecutors identify Mohamed Naufar (Naufer Moulavi) as the ringleader who provided support to the eight-member suicide squad that struck three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing 279 people including 45 foreigners, according to AFP; BBC News puts the toll at 270. The trial runs alongside a separate investigation into former intelligence chief Suresh Sallay, in custody and accused of orchestrating the attacks, which he denies; in July 2026, two former security officials were sentenced to death for failing to prevent the bombings despite intelligence warnings.