Colombo: As Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government held peace talks, the Tamil rebels' chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was on October 31 sentenced to 200 years of imprisonment in absentia by a court for masterminding the 1996 suicide bombing of the Central Bank in Colombo that left 91 people dead.

The government sought to dispell fears that the verdict will disrupt the talks being held in Thialand's Nakon Pathom resort.

"We do not think the judgement will affect the talks," Sri Lankan chief negotiator and Constitutional Affairs Minister, G L Pieris, said.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE.

The Colombo High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya found Prabhakaran guilty, along with three others who are also absconding, of conspiracy, and aiding and abetting the attack.

The four were sentenced to 200-year prison terms on 51 counts. All the sentences will run concurrently.

However, LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and three others were acquitted of all charges.

Only two suspects were present during trial and both were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Attorney General had indicted 10 suspects, among whom only Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman were prominent LTTE leaders.

Sri Lanka's criminal law permits the trial of suspects even in their absence.

A truck-laden with explosives had rammed into the Central Bank building, close to the President's official residence, on January 31, 1996. The massive explosion killed 91 people and injured hundreds. It was among a series of blasts engineered by the Tiger rebels in 1996.

PTI