Sri Lankan asylum seekers to be deported from UK despite safety fears

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London, June 15: About 40 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, including some with links to the Tamil Tigers, are expected to be deported back into the troubled country from Britain.

The move has alarmed human rights campaigners, who fear that they may suffer reprisals in Sri Lanka, where the Tigers were defeated in 2009 during the civil war.

“If people are being returned to Sri Lanka, who are known or are suspected to be Tamils associated with the LTTE, the possibility of reprisals from the authorities are a concern,” the Telegraph quoted Sam Zarifi, the Asia program director for Amnesty International, as saying.

News of the deportations came after Channel 4 showed video footage of atrocities carried out during the final weeks of the 2009 conflict.

The group of asylum seekers, many of whom are Tamil, are being forced back into danger with a flight believed to be scheduled for tomorrow, the paper said.

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said that returns to Sri Lanka will only be undertaken if they are satisfied that the individual has no protection needs.

“The improving situation in Sri Lanka has meant it is safe to remove people there,” the spokesperson added. (ANI)