Former Sri Lankan spy chief, Retired Major General Tuan Suresh Sallay, was accused of directing the Easter 2019 bombings in Sri Lanka that killed 279 people, the country’s Public Security Minister told Parliament on June 10.
This is the first official statement linking Sallay to the suicide bombings, considered Sri Lanka’s worst single terror attack.
“Investigations have revealed that Retired Major General Tuan Suresh Sallay conspired with and strategically directed Islamic extremists until they carried out the attacks,” Minister Ananda Wijepala said.
The retired Major General was arrested in February on charges of “aiding and abetting” the attack, AFP reported. Sallay has denied the allegations.
Who Is Major General Tuan Suresh Sallay?
Major General Tuan Suresh Sallay was appointed as the State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief in 2019 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed the presidency. He was the first military officer to head Sri Lanka’s main intelligence agency.
The appointment came months after the Easter bombings, which targeted three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo.
Earlier, Sallay headed the military intelligence department. In 2023, British broadcaster Channel 4 reported that Sallay was connected to the Islamists who carried out the bombings and had met with them before the attack.
A whistleblower told the channel that Salley had let the attack proceed with the intention of influencing the 2019 presidential election in favour of Rajapaksa.
Two days after the bombings, Rajapaksa announced his candidacy. He won the November election in a landslide after vowing to stamp out Islamist extremism.
As of now, Sallay remains hospitalised after going on a hunger strike during his detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He is being treated at National Hospital in Colombo, All India News reported.
Family members and legal representatives claim Salley has refused food and water and aims to continue his hunger strike. Doctors are reportedly administering intravenous fluids and monitoring his condition.
Opposition activists have been protesting in Colombo and demanding Sallay’s release from custody.
Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission has opened an inquiry after a complaint from the former spy chief’s relatives. It has instructed CID officers involved in the investigation of the bombings to appear before the Commission this week.
Following Sallay’s interrogation, investigators have secured orders from the court preventing former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from leaving the country.
