Sri Lanka church seeks criminal justice for Easter bombings

COLOMBO

Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church wants the country’s former leader to be criminally prosecuted for negligence. Duthika Perera, an attorney representing Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said Friday the church  is expecting the attorney general to file criminal charges against former President Maithripala Sirisena and four others whom the court found to have neglected their duties to protect the people. On Thursday, a top Sri Lanka court ordered Sirisena and four others pay compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 270 people. Ranjith said the church was satisfied with Thursday’s judgment, calling it “a very happy beginning.”