The legal counsel for former State Intelligence Service (SIS) Director Nilantha Jayawardena informed the Supreme Court that his client has settled the Rs. 65 million in arrears from the compensation he was ordered to pay in relation to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
This was revealed during a hearing of Fundamental Rights petition filed against Jayawardena, accusing him of failing to act on prior intelligence that could have prevented the deadly terror attacks.
In September this year, the Attorney General informed the Supreme Court that contempt of court charges would be brought against Jayawardena for his failure to pay the full compensation of Rs. 75 million to the victims.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that several former government officials, including Jayawardena, were responsible for failing to prevent the attacks despite having prior warnings.
The court ordered Jayawardena, along with former President Maithripala Sirisena, former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, and former National Intelligence Director Sisira Mendis, to pay compensation from their personal wealth to the victims.
The rulings were based on petitions filed by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, victims’ families, Catholic priests, and others.
In July 2024, SDIG Nilantha Jayawardena was also placed on compulsory leave as part of the ongoing investigations into the Easter Sunday attacks. (Newswire)