Twelve individuals, who were found guilty over the murder of former Polonnaruwa District Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer in 2022, have been sentenced to death.

The sentence was pronounced by the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar after a lengthy hearing.

Another four individuals have been handed six-month sentences suspended for five years.

Furthermore, 23 other accused were acquitted by the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar.

Suspects in the case filed over the assault and killing of former Member of Parliament Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer were produced before the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar, this morning.

On 14 January, the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar deferred the announcement of the verdict in the ex-MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala’s murder case until today.

The Polonnaruwa District parliamentarian and his security officer, a Police Constable, were reported dead amidst the unrest in the Nittambuwa area during the nationwide incidents of violence on May 09, 2022.

Initially, a shooting incident was reported in the Nittambuwa area that evening, following which a total of six injured people were rushed to the Wathupitiwala Base Hospital.

Hospital sources later confirmed that three of them had sustained gunshot wounds, whereas a 27-year-old who was in critical condition had later succumbed to injuries.

According to reports, the parliamentarian and his security officer had opened fire at an angry mob of protesters and critically injured two people while they were blocking his vehicle. The MP and his security officer were later found murdered while hiding inside a nearby building.

Footage secured from a nearby CCTV camera showed MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala fleeing the scene with his security officer, who was armed with a gun. Dozens of suspects had been subsequently arrested on several occasions on suspicion of involvement in the MP’s murder.

Accordingly, the Attorney General filed indictments before the Gampaha High Court against 42 individuals in relation to the killings.