Court orders confiscation of property belonging to 15 Easter Sunday Attack convicts

The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar has issued a formal order directing the State to confiscate all movable and immovable properties owned by the 15 convicts sentenced in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. The directive forms part of the comprehensive penalty following the landmark conclusion of the trial.

The bench held that assets possessed by the convicts—including land, residential properties, financial holdings, and vehicles—were either utilized in financing and preparing the terror attacks or acquired using funds channelled through extremist networks. The court ruled that retaining such property in private hands would run contrary to justice and counter-terrorism legislation.

State legal representatives have been instructed to collaborate with the Registrar of Lands, financial institutions, and district secretariats to catalog and vest ownership of the designated properties in the Republic. The measure represents one of the largest asset forfeitures ordered in the history of Sri Lankan counter-terrorism litigation.