COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal on Thursday postponed until June 24 a petition by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa seeking to prevent his arrest under the country’s anti-terrorism law in connection with the investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
The court declined to issue interim relief restraining investigators from taking action against Mr. Rajapaksa while the case is pending, leaving open the possibility of his arrest before the next hearing.
Mr. Rajapaksa filed the petition as the Criminal Investigation Department widened its inquiry into the Easter attacks, a series of coordinated suicide bombings that struck churches and luxury hotels on Easter morning in 2019, killing more than 260 people and injuring hundreds. The attacks were carried out by a local Islamist group that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Mr. Rajapaksa, who served as defense secretary during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war against the Tamil Tiger insurgency, won the presidency later that year after campaigning on promises to restore national security in the aftermath of the bombings. He resigned and fled the country during the economic crisis of 2022 before returning weeks later.
He was formally drawn into the Easter Sunday investigation this month when the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court imposed an overseas travel ban at the request of investigators.
The inquiry has increasingly focused on senior security and intelligence figures linked to the former administration. Among them is Major General (Retired) Suresh Sallay, a former military intelligence officer who later headed the State Intelligence Service and became a close security aide to Mr. Rajapaksa. He has been detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, or PTA, since February over allegations that he played a role in facilitating the attacks, allegations he denies.
Ananda Wijepala, the minister of public security, recently told Parliament that investigators were examining the conduct of officials who held senior positions within the state apparatus at the time of the bombings.
The petition carries a notable political dimension. As defense secretary and later as president, Mr. Rajapaksa was among the strongest defenders of the PTA, which grants broad powers of arrest and detention and has long been criticized by human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the European Union.
The Court of Appeal is scheduled to hear the matter again on June 24. Until then, investigators remain free to proceed against the former president if they determine that sufficient grounds exist.
