Sri Lanka arrests Muslim leader over 2019 Easter Sunday attacks

Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaaj were arrested in pre-dawn raids on their homes in Colombo.

The Sri Lankan police have arrested a Muslim leader and member of parliament in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed 279 people as pressure to speed up the investigation mounted. Detectives took Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party, into custody on Saturday under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), police spokesman Ajith Rohana said, adding that Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaaj were arrested in predawn raids on their homes in Colombo. “They were arrested under the PTA based on circumstantial and scientific evidence that they had connections with the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks,” Rohana said in a statement.