COLOMBO, July 9 : Suresh Sallay, a retired Sri Lankan major general and counterterrorism expert, has addressed the Pentagon and the United Nations on subjects including social media’s role in “radicalisation, extremism and terrorism”.
But the island’s former spy chief was himself arrested under anti-terrorism laws in February and accused by the government of masterminding the deadliest attack against civilians in Sri Lanka’s history.
The so-called Easter bombings on April 21, 2019, which killed 279 people and wounded more than 500, were blamed on Islamist militants.
However, the government now accuses Sallay of having “strategically directed” the attacks.
Those killed included 45 foreigners, many of them tourists, including Australian, British, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Japanese and US citizens.
Sallay has not been charged with any offence and denies any wrongdoing, with his next court hearing scheduled for Friday.
The allegations against him mark a dramatic reversal in the official narrative about the devastating bombings.
Sri Lanka says seven Sunni Muslim suicide bombers attacked three luxury hotels and three churches in coordinated strikes inspired by the Islamic State group.
But questions quickly emerged over Indian intelligence warnings that were ignored and how the bombers evaded detection.
Investigations have since shifted from an IS-inspired attack to an alleged conspiracy involving deep state actors seeking to seize power.
Critics argue that the attacks succeeded not because of an intelligence failure, but because they were the product of a planned intelligence operation.
– ‘Mastermind’ –
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told parliament in June that Sallay was the “mastermind” behind the attacks who “conspired with and strategically directed Islamic extremists until they carried out the attacks”.
Government inquiries have exposed links between the bombers and at least two state intelligence agencies, but Wijepala was the first minister to publicly accuse Sallay of orchestrating the attacks.
“Just three weeks prior to the attack, Sallay met Muslim men to obtain details of the locations,” Wijepala said.
Critics argue the network was cultivated to create an enemy to justify greater state backing for a radical Buddhist group aligned with the then-powerful Rajapaksa political dynasty.
Britain’s Channel 4 reported in 2023 that a whistleblower alleged the attack was allowed to help Gotabaya Rajapaksa win the 2019 presidency on a pledge to crush Islamist extremism.
Investigators have told the court the alleged plot was to create chaos and position Rajapaksa as the leader capable of crushing militancy, as he had done against Tamil rebels a decade earlier.
Rajapaksa administrations have acknowledged that the state funded jihadists to gather intelligence on Tamil rebels during the 1983-2009 civil war.
However, they insist that the militants double-crossed their handlers and carried out the Easter attacks.
– ‘Horrific acts’ –
Nearly 70 percent of Sri Lankans are Buddhist, with 12 percent Hindus, 10 percent Sunni Muslims and seven percent Christians.
Sallay in many ways reflects the diversity of Sri Lanka’s 22 million people: he is a Muslim, married to a Buddhist, while his Catholic mother has appealed to the pope to secure his release.
A career officer, he served in Sri Lanka’s missions in France and Malaysia, and studied at New Delhi’s prestigious National Defence College, as well as India’s Madras University and Britain’s University of Bradford.
Colombo’s Institute of National Security Studies, a think tank linked to the defence ministry, says Sallay addressed the Pentagon in a 2003 speech titled “Suicide Terrorism and its Impact”.
He said in a 2023 speech at UN headquarters that terrorism was “one of the greatest challenges” to international security.
“A number of attacks… including in Sri Lanka, have demonstrated the power of social media and digital platforms in radicalisation, extremism, and terrorism,” he said.
“We have witnessed horrific acts of violence that affect innocent lives and communities.”
Sallay prospered under the Rajapaksas.
He was appointed to head the State Intelligence Service after Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the 2019 election, the first military officer to do so.
Sallay had Muslim human rights lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah arrested in 2020, accusing him of being the attack “mastermind” of the attacks the year before.
Hizbullah was freed 22 months later after authorities failed to produce evidence.
Sallay has complained of “inhuman and degrading” treatment in detention since his own arrest.
Hizbullah said his detention conditions were worse but that Sallay nevertheless deserved fair treatment, legal counsel and family access.
Sallay fell from grace in 2024 after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office and reopened stalled investigations. He remains in custody.
