COLOMBO – Eight of the 24 accused in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings case, who are representing themselves without legal counsel, submitted written submissions outlining their defence before a three-judge Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar on Tuesday (8).
Seven of the eight self-represented accused submitted computer-typed submissions in English totalling 376 pages, while the 11th accused submitted a 28-page written submission in Sinhala. All eight filed their submissions while being held in remand custody. The sixth accused did not submit any written objections.
The Trial-at-Bar, comprising Justices Navaratne Marasinghe, Ramanadan Kannan, and Sujeewa Nishshanka, ordered lawyers representing the remaining accused, as well as the Additional Solicitor General appearing for the prosecution, to file their written submissions with the High Court Registrar by 12 noon on Wednesday (9).
The Attorney General had filed the case against 25 accused, including several religious clerics, on 23,270 charges, including allegations that they had knowledge of plans to carry out the Easter Sunday bombings on April 21, 2019, but failed to disclose the information. The 17th accused died in prison before the trial began, leaving 24 accused currently before the court.
The bench has scheduled its verdict for September 22, and ordered the Superintendents of the Colombo Remand Prison and Welikada Prison to produce all accused in court by 9:00 a.m. that day.
The court also directed prison authorities to produce the 13th accused for scheduled medical appointments at Welisara Hospital on September 15 and an Ayurvedic hospital on September 18.
-ENCL
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