The names of all 24 defendants in the main Easter Sunday conspiracy case have now been published, hours after a three-judge Trial-at-Bar convicted 15 and acquitted nine.

NewsFirst listed both groups in a report filed at 6.41 p.m. on Tuesday — detail no outlet had carried when the verdict broke.

Found guilty

Mohamed Naufar Maulavi · Mohamed Shareef Adam Lebbe (Gafoor Mama) · Hayathu Mohamed Ahamed Milhan · Mohamed Ibrahim Sadik Abdullah · Mohamed Ibrahim Sahid Abdul Haq · Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Rizkan · Mohamed Mansoor Mohamed Sanasdeen · Abdul Manaf Mohamed Firdous · Mohamed Rameez Mohamed Sajith · Abdul Latheef Mohamed Shafi · Husseinul Rizwi Khalid Sameer · Mohamed Hanifa Zainul Abdeen · Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Haris · Rasik Raza Hussen · Kachchi Mohamed Mohamed Jemsith

Acquitted and released

Mohamed Sawahir Mohamed Hassan · Mohamed Ifthikar Mohamed Insaf · Rasheed Mohamed Ibrahim · Zainul Abdeen Mohamed Jaseem · Mohamed Mustafa Mohamed Rizwan · Meera Sahib Mohamed Nafli · Mohamed Ameer Mohamed Ayathulla · Mohamed Ansardeen Mohamed Ilmi alias Ilmi · Mohamed Akram Ahakkam

The missing defendant now has a name

Our 24 August report noted the Attorney General had indicted 25 suspects while the trial proceeded against 24, and this morning’s coverage said only that one accused had died during proceedings.

NewsFirst supplies the name: the 17th accused, Yaseem Bawa Abdul Rauff, has died. The arithmetic now closes — 15 convicted plus nine acquitted plus one deceased accounts for all 25 indicted.

Sentencing was set for 9 p.m.

The bench paused proceedings at about 7.30 p.m. before pronouncing sentence, Hiru News reported. It recalled the case at about 7.45 p.m. and fixed sentencing for 9.00 p.m. the same night.

No outlet had reported the sentences passed at the time of writing. The bench comprises High Court Judges Navaratne Marasinghe (presiding), Sujeewa Nishshanka and Ramanathan Kannan.

”We, even though we were found guilty, are smiling”

The sixth accused, Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Rizkan — who exercised his right to silence throughout the trial and gave no dock statement — addressed the court in open session before sentencing, Hiru reported.

“I am very happy. I don’t think you three have the happiness that I have… This is the first time I am speaking. I followed a policy of silence.”

He said he had been found guilty and remained content, told the bench that “the situation prevailing in the country has a major impact,” and maintained that his family had done no wrong to the victims.

“Those who went free today left crying. But we, even though we were found guilty, are smiling.”

His position on the convicted list is the sixth name, matching Hiru’s identification of him as the sixth accused.

Note on spellings

NewsFirst renders the sixth accused as Rizkan and Hiru as Riskan; NewsFirst gives the judge as Nissanka and Hiru as Nishshanka. These are transliteration variants of the same names, not different people.

Update: sentences handed down

The bench sentenced the 15 convicted men late on Tuesday night. Daily Mirror, Hiru and NewsFirst reported 220 years of rigorous imprisonment each, with all their property confiscated by the State; NewsFirst later filed an update giving a varied breakdown of 200 to 260 years. See our full report on the sentencing.

Not reported

Neither outlet states which charges each defendant was convicted on, how long the acquitted had been in custody, or whether the prosecution will appeal any acquittal. The scale of the case — 23,270 charges and 2,309 prosecution witnesses over nearly five years — means the per-defendant findings have not yet been made public.

Sources