Colombo High Court postpones to consider bail for Easter Sunday bombers’ brother till 8 June

By T.Farook Thajudeen

Colombo High Court Judge Nawaratna Marasinghe yesterday deferred the order to grant bail to Mohamed Ibrahim Ismail, the brother of two suicide bombers involved in the Easter Sunday Attacks of 2019 till 8 June. 

At the outset of the inquiry before High Court Judge Nawaratna Marasinghe, Counsel Nalinda Indatissa PC appearing on behalf of the accused Ismail sought bail. He argued that the first and second accused in the case were already granted bail by the Court and moved to grant bail to the third accused Mohamed Ibrahim Ismail.

Counsel also contended that the Bail Act has provisions to grant bail to a suspect who is in remand for over one year without framing any charges in court. The Counsel emphasised that his client is not directly involved in the crime and he was kept in remand for not disclosing the crime to the Police.

Indatissa further said that the other two accused who were in remand with the accused were granted bail and therefore release his client as well on bail.

Deputy Solicitor General Lakmini Girihagama, objecting to grant bail to the accused, pointed out that the other two accused were granted bail under special circumstances of the Bail Act. 

She submitted that the first suspect was granted bail due to his health condition and the second accused was granted bail considering the age of his child.

She underscored the fact that the Bail Act does not provide any provisions to grant bail to an accused of the calibre of the third suspect. 

After hearing both sides, Judge Marasinghe postponed his decision for 8 June.

The accused was a brother of Inshaf Ahmed Ibrahim and Ilham Ibrahim, both of whom had carried out attacks in the series of bombings that took place on Easter Sunday in 2019 at the Shangri-La and Cinnamon Grand hotels in Colombo.

The three accused in this case were the suicide bombers’ millionaire father Mohammed Ibrahim and the two brothers of the two suicide bombers, Insaf Ahmed and Ilham Ahmed, who carried out suicide bombings.