Relatives carry the coffin of a victim of Easter Sunday's bomb blast at St Sebastian Church, in Negombo, Sri Lanka, April 25, 2019. (MANISH SWARUP / AP)
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay a sum of 100 million rupees (about $276,243) in compensation to the victims of an Easter Sunday attack, a court document showed.
The Supreme Court made the order when the case on the Easter attack was taken up against the former president and some former senior officials, who were found to have violated the fundamental rights of petitioners for failing to take action to prevent the attacks despite receiving credible information.
READ MORE: Death toll lowered to 253, Sri Lanka braces for more attacks
The court also ruled that former police chief Pujith Jayasundara and former State Intelligence Service director Nilantha Jayawardena should pay 75 million rupees (about $207,182) each in compensation, while former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was ordered to pay 50 million rupees (about $138,122) and former chief of national intelligence Sisira Mendis was ordered to pay 10 million rupees (about $27,624).
The Easter terror attack by suicide bombers in April 2019 was one of the worst violent incidents recorded in Sri Lanka's history, with over 260 people killed in the blasts.