A file picture of the anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2022, through which a ruling occasion parliamentarian, Amarakeerthi Athukorala, was killed.
| Photograph Credit score: AP
A court docket in western Sri Lanka on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) convicted 16 of the 41 suspects who had been indicted for the homicide of a ruling occasion parliamentarian and his safety officer in 2022.
Of them, 12 had been handed demise sentences by a three-member bench of the excessive court docket within the western city of Gampaha in a break up determination. 4 different suspects had been served suspended jail phrases.
Amarakeerthi Athukorala, the then ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP) MP, and his safety officer Jayantha Gunawardena had been brutally assaulted to demise when their automobile was waylaid by a mob whereas he was continuing to his constituency within the north central area of Polonnaruwa on Might 9, 2022.
The identical day, the nation erupted into large demonstrations when the protesters who had been peacefully demanding the resignation of the then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa got here to be attacked by mobs led by ruling occasion politicians.
The protesters then led a counter punch attacking the ruling occasion supporters. Houses of almost 100 ruling occasion members had been set on hearth.
Mr Rajapaksa resigned two months later because the nation was reeling in its worst financial disaster. Pressing financial help from India and an IMF bail out later restored normalcy.
Revealed – February 11, 2026 03:33 pm IST