Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has ruled that the inaction of the country's former president and four others led to the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed nearly 270 people. The court ordered them to pay compensation for violating the basic rights of the victims and their families, the AP reported.

The seven-judge panel of the highest court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay 100 million rupees ($273,300) from his personal funds. He also ordered the police chief, two high-ranking intelligence officials and the then defense secretary to pay a total of 210 million rupees ($574,000).

Two local Muslim groups who had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group were accused of carrying out six near-terrorist attacks targeting parishioners at Easter services in three churches and tourists eating breakfast in three top hotels.

The communication breakdown, caused by a disagreement between Sirisena and the then prime minister, was due to the authorities' failure to respond to almost specific foreign intelligence data obtained before the attacks.

The court said Sirisena, who was also defense minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, did not convene regular meetings of the national security council or allow key personnel to attend meetings he held.

All of this is a stark reality that seems to this court to be a serious omission on the part of the then president, the court said.

The government has prosecuted several people in connection with the attacks, but leaders of the country's Catholic Church say they suspect a larger conspiracy and demand the names of the leaders be revealed.