Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been banned from leaving Sri Lanka by a Colombo court in connection with investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks.
The travel ban was imposed by Fort Magistrate Pasan Amarasena when the case was taken up on Wednesday (03).
Two military officers have also been placed under the same ban, pending further proceedings.
Sally named as suspect
The court also named Major General Suresh Sallay (Retd), former director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), as a suspect in the investigation.
Sallay’s alleged role in the lead-up to the attacks, and questions over whether intelligence warnings were ignored or suppressed, have long been a subject of public scrutiny and prior parliamentary inquiry.
The Easter Sunday bombings targeted three churches and three luxury hotels in a series of coordinated suicide attacks carried out by local Islamist extremists.
The attacks remain the deadliest act of terrorism in Sri Lanka’s post-war history.
Despite years of investigations, court proceedings, and a presidential commission of inquiry, no senior official has yet been held criminally accountable.
The families of victims have repeatedly expressed frustration over the slow pace of justice.