The arrest and 90-day detention of former State Intelligence Service Director Suresh Sallay intensifies scrutiny over Sri Lanka’s 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks, reopening national security questions and accountability debates.
Retired Major General Suresh Sallay, former Director of the State Intelligence Service, has been remanded for 90 days to facilitate questioning over the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. The detention order, granted under national security provisions, marks a significant development in the long running criminal investigation into one of Sri Lanka’s darkest tragedies.
Sallay was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department as part of ongoing probes into the coordinated suicide bombings that struck churches and luxury hotels on April 21, 2019. The attacks claimed more than 260 lives and left hundreds injured, sending shockwaves through the country and the global community.
Investigators say the extended detention period will allow in depth interrogation of the former intelligence chief regarding intelligence lapses, prior warnings, and institutional accountability. The Easter Sunday attacks remain among the deadliest terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka’s history, with justice and transparency still central to public discourse.
