The commission of inquiry said Wednesday that "criminal proceedings" should be brought against former President Maithripala Sirisena, who left office in November 2019, for "criminal liability on his part" over the attacks.
On April 21, 2019, suicide bombers launched a coordinated series of attacks on three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels across Sri Lanka, killing 270 people and injuring 500 more.
Shortly after the attacks, the Sri Lankan government admitted that it failed to act on multiple warnings from intelligence agencies, including from India and the United States.
Set up by Sirisena five months after the attacks, the commission found that the former President knew of a possible terrorist threat but "proceeded to India and then Singapore from April 16 to April 21 without making any acting appointment for the post of Minister of Defense."
In its 472-page report, which was handed to Parliament, the commission said that "there is a criminal liability on his part" and recommends the attorney general "consider instituting criminal proceedings against President Sirisena under any suitable provision in the Penal Code."
It also said then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had a "lax approach" towards Islamic extremism, which "was one of the primary reasons for the failure."
"Even after his appointment as Prime Minister in December 2018, he was not invited by President Sirisena for any National Security Council meetings," the report said.
In addition to the former President, the commission recommended criminal proceedings against the former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, the former Police Chief Pujith Jayasundera, former Chief of National Intelligence Sisira Mendia, and other senior police officers.
Nishara Jayaratne, coordinating secretary and spokesperson for Attorney General Dappula de Livera, told CNN, "the Attorney General will initiate action no sooner a copy of the report is received."
Sirisena did not respond to repeated calls made to his Colombo residence by CNN. A staffer who answered his phone said, "he is very busy today and will not take calls."
"The report states that Zahran had believed that he was following the footsteps of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, who was alleged to be the Emir of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Bangladesh. Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi Canadian allegedly masterminded the July 2015 Dhaka attack at the Gulchand Café which killed 29 people," the commission said.
This story has been updated to correct the death toll from the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka.
