A Sri Lankan court has convicted 15 men for their roles in the 2019 Easter bombings that killed 267 people, handing each a sentence of at least 200 years - a term that, in a rare moment of judicial realism, ensures they will indeed die behind bars.
The attacks on 21 April targeted three churches and three hotels during Easter services and celebrations, wounding nearly 600 people. Inspired by the Islamic State (IS) group, the bombings rank among the deadliest in Sri Lanka's history, which is saying something for a country that has seen its share of tragedy.
The verdict came Tuesday from a three-judge high court panel after a trial that dragged on for nearly five years, conducted under tight security with hundreds of police officers deployed around the courthouse - presumably to ensure that the only explosions happening that day were procedural.
The judges also ordered the confiscation of the defendants' property. All 15 are from Sri Lanka's minority Muslim community, a detail that will surely be noted by those keeping score on sectarian tensions.
Back in 2021, authorities filed a staggering 23,270 charges against 25 suspects accused of planning or inspiring the attacks. The charges included murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism, and firearms and explosives offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. None of those believed to have directly participated in the bombings are alive, which simplifies things for everyone except the prosecutors.
Two Sri Lanka-based Islamist militant groups were accused of carrying out the attacks.
In the courtroom, the accused appeared remarkably relaxed, chatting and laughing during breaks. They requested - and were granted - a prayer break during the lengthy reading of the judgment, because even in the midst of a multi-century sentencing, one must keep up with one's spiritual obligations.
Nine defendants were freed after the court found the charges against them not proven. One other died before trial. Those freed tearfully hugged the rest as they were separated from the convicted, who were later invited to argue for lenient sentences - a request that presumably went about as well as expected.
In total, five defendants received 200 years each, five got 220 years, four were handed 240 years, and one lucky winner got 260 years, all based on their involvement in conspiring and aiding the attacks.
"What I did or didn't do only God and I know," said Mohamed Ibrahim Saadiq Abdulla, who was sentenced to 240 years with hard labour. "In the end all people will be resurrected and God will judge everyone." A statement that, given the sentence, may be the understatement of the century.
In calculating the sentences, the court considered all seven blasts: three at churches, three at tourist hotels, and one at a motel where an attacker killed himself and two others after aborting his plan to attack a fourth hotel.
Haripriya Jayasundara, who led the prosecution, called for even longer prison terms, arguing the defendants were part of a well-planned attack intended to kill Christian worshippers and tourists. The prosecution's case was bolstered by a video recording left behind by one of the suicide bombers, filmed the day before the attacks, showing the attackers with faces covered, armed with rifles and swords, pledging allegiance to then-IS leader Abu Bakhr al-Baghdadi and vowing to make Sri Lanka an Islamic nation.
Sri Lanka's Catholic church has claimed, without providing evidence, that those identified as perpetrators are not the masterminds and that a bigger conspiracy lurks behind the attacks - a theory that, if true, would make this whole trial a rather expensive warm-up act.
A parliamentary committee found that police and intelligence officials failed to act on repeated warnings of the attacks. In July, a former police chief and a former senior defence ministry official were sentenced to death for failing to act promptly on foreign intelligence warnings.
Sri Lanka has not carried out an execution since 1976, meaning death sentences typically result in life imprisonment - a sentence that, in this case, might actually be shorter than the 200-plus years handed to the conspirators. Justice, it seems, has a sense of humour.