Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court ruled that former President Maithripala Sirisena had been negligent in not taking measures to thwart the attack, despite solid intelligence warnings two weeks earlier.
The April 21 Easter Sunday bombers had targeted three churches and three luxury hotels, killing at least 279 people and wounded 593 last year.
Sri Lanka's new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called a snap election on April 25 after sacking the national parliament where his party led a minority government.
Former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa's family is eyeing a comeback after a decade in power remembered by supporters for crushing the Tamil militants. His main opponent Sajith Premadasa is vowing security and development in the island nation.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will not be seeking a second term, paving the way for a record 35 candidates competing for the top job.
Maithripala Sirisena has decided not to seek reelection next month. Meanwhile, the 35 candidates for the presidency are the most ever in Sri Lanka.
Sluggish economic growth, national security, endemic corruption and deep ethnic and religious divisions in the South Asian nation will be key issues at the upcoming polls.
The tiny island nation's Muslim minority continues to face discrimination since the deadly bombings in April.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena summoned an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Friday night to oppose the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) probing the April 21 attacks that killed 258 people and wounded nearly 500.
President Maithripala Sirisena orders emergency for another 30 days, citing "public security," a month after deadly Easter bombings killed 258 people.
Government officials say about 80 percent of land taken from ethnic Tamils during decades of civil conflict has been handed back, but experts say the remainder may never be returned.
In what appears to be a reprisal for Easter Sunday attackers by Daesh-linked bombers, mobs are moving through towns in Sri Lanka, ransacking mosques burning Qurans and attacking shops.
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