A Sri Lankan court today imposed an overseas travel ban on former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and two former military officers in connection with ongoing investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks. The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court issued the order after considering a request from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the coordinated suicide bombings on churches and luxury hotels across the country on April 21, 2019.
The attacks killed 270 people, including 11 Indians.
The travel restrictions also apply to Army Colonel Mohamed Ansar and former intelligence officer Premananda Udalagama, also known as Silva. Police told the court that the investigation could be hampered if the three men left the country. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, younger brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced his presidential candidacy shortly after the bombings and went on to win the November 2019 election.
Investigators have alleged that the attacks may have been exploited to create a climate of insecurity that benefited Rajapaksa’s campaign, although no such allegations have been proven in court. Rajapaksa resigned in July 2022 amid mass protests over Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis in decades. He has repeatedly denied any involvement in a conspiracy linked to the Easter Sunday attacks.
