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REWRITTEN AFTER PUBLISHINGWednesday 23 September 2026

bbc.com changed its headline after publishing.

Sri Lanka Easter attacks : Court findscourt convicts 15 guiltymen over deadly Easter Sunday bombings

Sri Lanka's High Court convicted 15 men on September 22-23, 2026, over their roles in the April 21, 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed between…

bbc.com as captured

As published

6 pages captured at the time, in each outlet's own typography. Open one to read the copy held outside the publisher's control.

upi.com as published: 15 found guilty of 2019 Easter bombings that killed 279 in Sri Lankaupi.com2026-09-23 15:48:05arkansasonline.com as published: 15 sentenced for ’19 Sri Lanka Easter bombings - The Arkansas Democrat-Gazettearkansasonline.com2026-09-23 15:48:05bbc.com as published: Sri Lanka court convicts 15 men over deadly Easter Sunday bombingsbbc.com2026-09-22 16:51:52france24.com as published: Sri Lanka: 15 convicted over Easter bombingsfrance24.com2026-09-23 15:48:05koreaherald.com as published: Sri Lankan court sentences 15 men to life in prison for roles in deadly 2019 Easter bombingskoreaherald.com2026-09-23 15:48:05theguardian.com as published: Sri Lanka Easter bombings: 15 sentenced to hundreds of years in prison each over deadly terror attackstheguardian.com2026-09-23 15:48:05

Attributed to no one

Quoted verbatim from each outlet's own page. This site records what was published and who it was attributed to. It does not assess whether the claim is true.

bbc.com

  • Investigators have previously blamed the bombings on Islamist extremists

named elsewhere in the same article: prosecutors

theguardian.com

  • Two Sri Lanka-based Islamist militant groups were believed to have orchestrated the attacks.

no speaker named anywhere in the article

Same storyEarlier: Sri Lanka's High Court convicted defendants in the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings trial…Each entry records what was published on its own date and is not edited afterwards.

What this entry found

  • OUTLETS DISAGREE

    Death toll from the attacks

    • upi.com (279)
    • arkansasonline.com (267)
    • bbc.com (270)
    • koreaherald.com (267)
    the full text
  • OUTLETS DISAGREE

    Number of people wounded

    • upi.com (more than 500)
    • arkansasonline.com (574)
    • bbc.com (more than 500)
    • koreaherald.com (574)
    the full text
  • OUTLETS DISAGREE

    Prison sentence length for convicted men

    • arkansasonline.com (200 years)
    • koreaherald.com (at least 200 years)
    • theguardian.com (at least 220 years)
    the full text
  • ONLY ONE OUTLET HAD THIS

    arkansasonline.com carried 8 details no other outlet reported.

    • 267 people were killed in the attacks
    • 574 people were wounded
    • 42 foreigners were killed
    • Convicted men were each sentenced to 200 years in prison
    • The property of defendants was confiscated
    • The attacks were among the deadliest terror attacks in Sri Lanka's history
    • Two Sri Lanka-based Islamic militant groups were accused of carrying out the bombings
    • Sri Lanka's Catholic Church claimed without evidence that identified perpetrators are not the masterminds and alleged a bigger conspiracy
6independent outlets
What happened, for context

Sri Lanka's High Court convicted 15 men on September 22-23, 2026, over their roles in the April 21, 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed between 267 and 279 people across churches and hotels. The men were sentenced to between 200 and 220 years in prison each. Nine other men were acquitted, and one of the 25 originally indicted died in custody.

5 of 6 articles were readable. Headline only, no body text retrieved, for: france24.com. Nothing below is drawn from those outlets beyond their headline.

Who reported it

  • upi.comWIRE
  • arkansasonline.comUNCLASSIFIED
  • bbc.comPUBLIC
  • france24.comPUBLIC
  • koreaherald.comINDEP
  • theguardian.comINDEP

References

Carried by multiple outlets

  • The conviction date was September 22, 2026 (Tuesday)upi.com, arkansasonline.com, bbc.com, koreaherald.com, theguardian.com
  • 15 men were convictedupi.com, arkansasonline.com, bbc.com, koreaherald.com, theguardian.com
  • The attacks occurred on April 21, 2019upi.com, arkansasonline.com, bbc.com, koreaherald.com, theguardian.com
  • Three churches and three hotels were targetedupi.com, arkansasonline.com, bbc.com, koreaherald.com, theguardian.com
  • More than 500 people were injuredupi.com, bbc.com
  • Nine men were acquittedupi.com, bbc.com
  • and 12 more, not shown

Reported by one outlet only

  • 279 people were killed in the attacksonly upi.com
  • 267 people were killed in the attacksonly arkansasonline.com, koreaherald.com, theguardian.com
  • 270 people were killedonly bbc.com
  • 574 people were woundedonly arkansasonline.com, koreaherald.com
  • Almost 6,000 people were woundedonly theguardian.com
  • 42 foreigners were killedonly arkansasonline.com, koreaherald.com

Reported unevenly

  • Death toll from the attacksstated by upi.com (279), arkansasonline.com (267), bbc.com (270), koreaherald.com (267), theguardian.com (267)
  • Number of people woundedstated by upi.com (more than 500), arkansasonline.com (574), bbc.com (more than 500), koreaherald.com (574), theguardian.com (almost 6,000)
  • Prison sentence length for convicted menstated by arkansasonline.com (200 years), koreaherald.com (at least 200 years), theguardian.com (at least 220 years) · absent from upi.com, bbc.com
  • Whether sentencing occurred on the conviction date or was adjournedstated by upi.com (sentencing would happen later Tuesday), bbc.com (court session was adjourned before sentencing) · absent from arkansasonline.com (states men were 'sentenced' on conviction date), koreaherald.com (states men were 'sentenced' on conviction date), theguardian.com (states men were 'sentenced' on conviction date)

Not yet confirmed against a primary source

  • Death toll: Did Sri Lanka's High Court or official court documents state 279, 270, or 267 deaths? Which is the official figure used in the judgment?
  • Injury toll: Did Sri Lanka's High Court or official court documents state the number of wounded as 'more than 500,' 574, or 'almost 6,000'?
  • Sentencing date: Did sentencing occur on September 22, 2026 (the conviction date), or was it adjourned to a later date? What do the court records show?
  • Sentence length: Were the convicted men sentenced to 200 years, 220 years, or a different term? What do the court records show?
  • BBC.com headline edit: Confirm the timing and reason for the change from 'finds 15 guilty' to 'convicts 15 men' and whether the change reflects court proceedings that occurred between the two versions.

What was checked, and against what

Nothing here could be settled from a primary source. 4 cannot be established from public sources and are listed below. Every document is linked so you can read the same record we did. Anything not confirmed is listed as such rather than left out.

  • cannot be established Death toll: Did Sri Lanka's High Court or official court documents state 279, 270, or 267 deaths? Which is the official figure used in the judgment?The disagreement between outlets is itself the finding. No primary source is needed to report that they differ.
  • cannot be established Injury toll: Did Sri Lanka's High Court or official court documents state the number of wounded as 'more than 500,' 574, or 'almost 6,000'?The disagreement between outlets is itself the finding. No primary source is needed to report that they differ.
  • cannot be established Sentencing date: Did sentencing occur on September 22, 2026 (the conviction date), or was it adjourned to a later date? What do the court records show?The disagreement between outlets is itself the finding. No primary source is needed to report that they differ.
  • cannot be established Sentence length: Were the convicted men sentenced to 200 years, 220 years, or a different term? What do the court records show?The disagreement between outlets is itself the finding. No primary source is needed to report that they differ.