Sri Lankan court summons ex-president over 2019 bombings

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan court has issued a summons ordering an ex-president to appear in a case alleging he failed to prevent suicide bomb attacks in 2019 that killed nearly 270 people. The court ordered ex-President Maithripala Sirisena to appear on Oct. 14 in a complaint filed by a Catholic priest and a worshipper saying his negligence led to the bomb blasts in three churches and three tourist hotels on Easter Sunday 2019. It says Sirisena, who was also defense minister and head of the armed forces, failed to take action in response to many prior warnings that a radical Islamic group was preaching violence against non-believers.