ISSN: 1391 - 0531
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Vol. 42 - No 11
News  

Immigration Tribunal in Britain upholds asylum seeker’s appeal

By Tharangani Perera

An appeal brought by a Sri Lankan refugee known as Mr. LP, against the refusal to grant him asylum in Britain, in recognition of the possibility that he may be subjected to torture on his return to Sri Lanka was upheld on August 6 by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in Britain.

“There have been reports that some refused Sri Lankan asylum seekers deported from Britain were re-arrested, detained and tortured again, that others have disappeared and still others have been killed,” said the Birmingham-based National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns Bulletin on August 8.

LP, who was forced to assist the LTTE by digging bunkers and providing care for injured LTTE members, was arrested in November by the Sri Lankan security forces who detained and allegedly tortured him in Vavuniya.

After about five days, LP was transferred to the Kalutara prison where he was detained for two weeks, after which he was taken to Court and released on bail with reporting conditions. After reporting to the Police, he was allegedly coerced to work as an informant for the Government. He left the country in December 1999, fearing further torture.

He claimed asylum upon his arrival in Britain in January 2000, and was refused it by the Home Office in 2005, which argued that the UNHCR Position on the International Protection Needs of Asylum Seekers from Sri Lanka should not be the base of LP’s case.
Rejecting the argument made by the Home Office the Tribunal, maintained that the UNHCR reports were prepared by persons with direct experience and hence, should be acknowledged in LP’s situation.

 
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