Former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Hemasiri Fernando told court that he believes former President Maithripala Sirisena had prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday attacks.
The former Secretary made the statement while testifying before a Trial-at-Bar hearing the case against him over alleged dereliction of duty in preventing the deadly terrorist attacks of 2019.
Fernando said he believes that then President Maithripala Sirisena , who was also the Defence Minister and Commander-in-Chief, was aware of the intelligence.
He further alleged that then State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Nilantha Jayawardena was also aware of the information and had acted to conceal it.
Fernando is facing charges including criminal dereliction of duty for failing to act on intelligence warnings about the attacks.
Defending his position, he said responsibility lay elsewhere.
“The President (Maithripala Sirisena) , who was the Defence Minister and head of the armed forces, left the country. As the most senior official, I have been dragged into this case. If the information I presented had been properly examined, this case would not have been filed against me. Those responsible are still at large,” he said. (Newswire)