Mrs. Nishanka Hansmalee Anthony, a receptionist at the hotel, said in the Colombo High Court yesterday (10) that in a photo taken at the Shangri-La Hotel on the day of the Easter Sunday terror attack, there was a person known as Saharan behind her. Sri Lanka Latest News
She stated this while testifying for the prosecution when the hearing of the case assigned by the Attorney General against 24 defendants regarding the Easter Sunday terror attack started at the Colombo High Court yesterday (10).
The trial will be held before the Colombo High Court’s three-member bench comprising of Damith Thotawatta, Amal Ranaraja and Navaratne Marasinghe.
Charges have been filed against 24 defendants, including Mohammad Ibrahim Mohammad Naufar alias Naufar Maulavi, in connection with the suicide bombings targeting Christian churches and tourist hotels in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa on Easter Sunday 2019.
On August 10, 2021, the Attorney General handed over indictments against 25 defendants under 23,270 charges including conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday terror attack, and it was later revealed that Yasir Baba Abdul Rauf, who was named as the 17th defendant in the case, has died.
After a long pre-trial hearing, the prosecution’s evidence began yesterday (10th). Ms. Haripriya Jayasundara, the Additional Solicitor General who appeared for the Attorney General said that the defendants who had presented the charge sheets in Sinhala were given their Tamil translations and the accused Mohammad Akram Ahakkam who requested the charge sheets in English was also given the charge sheets in Tamil.
Mrs. Nishanka Hansmalee Anthony (Au: 33), a receptionist at the Shangri-La Hotel, testified under the guidance of President’s Counsel Mrs. Haripriya Jayasundara.
She said that from 2017 to 2020, she worked as a receptionist at Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo and in its catering department. She said that on April 21, 2019, a special lunch called Easter Brunch was held for the guests of the hotel and on the days when such special programs are held, the female employees will be accommodated in the institution the day before. Accordingly, she said that she stayed that day and reported to work at 6.00 am.
That morning, she said that around 50 foreign guests who were staying at the hotel and local guests had come to eat in the part where she worked. She said that at around 10.15 am a bomb blast took place in one part of the restaurant and with that the hotel was covered with smoke and the lights went out and it became dark. She said she was walking towards the restaurant’s oceanfront bar, where there was another explosion. Then she said that instead of the gate that she usually uses, she left with a group of Chinese visitors through the gate used by the employees.
When she came to the lower floor, she said that she saw the body parts of those who were attacked in the lobby. The witness said that her head was slightly injured in the accident and she was admitted to the National Hospital for treatment. She said that on a later occasion the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department showed her two photographs and asked if she could identify the people there. Nishanka Hansmaali testified that in one of the photographs, the person known as Saharan was behind her. The trial will resume today (11th). There, the evidence is going to be questioned with the help of CCTV footage.
The case is scheduled to be heard daily till the 12th.
Officials from the American Embassy were also present in the open court during the trial.
source : Dinamina
