A Tamil asylum seeker in Australia, who self-immolated for fear of being deported back to Sri Lanka, has died after suffering 90 percent burns to his body, reports the Age.
Twenty-nine year old Leo Seemanpillai was taken to Alfred Hospital on Saturday following the incident, but died overnight.
Mr Seemanpillai fled Sri Lanka by boat and arrived in Darwin in January 2013. He was granted a bridging visa in May.
"He feared for his life if he was returned to Sri Lanka. His housemates have told me he repeatedly talked about being sent back, he was quite worried about it," a spokesperson for the Tamil Refugee Council, Aran Mylvaganam, who had known Mr Seemanpillai during the time he sought asylum, told the Age.
See more here.
Fear of torture or death on return to Sri Lanka has led to a number of Tamil asylum seekers at Australia's detention centres attempting suicide over recent years.
Most recently in April, a Tamil asylum seeker in Sydney set himself alight, leaving a suicide note stating that he would rather die in Australia than in Sri Lanka.
See related articles:
Tamil asylum seeker attempts suicide following deportation order (10 Apr 2014)
Tamil from Australia tortured in Sri Lanka (23 Apr 2014)
Australians hold vigil for Tamil asylum seeker in indefinite detention (29 Mar 2013)
Australian detention centre suicide sparks outrage (26 Oct 2011)
Australia's asylum policy and the deportation of Tamils has received criticism from NGOs:
Tamil asylum seekers face significant harm - Australian Human Rights Commission (27 Oct 2013)
'Australia's practice of returning Sri Lankans is reckless' (17 Jun 2013)
This latest incident comes amidst deportations of Tamil asylum seekers in Malaysia, sparking fear amongst others currently seeking refuge in the country.
See related articles:
Malaysian deportations leave Tamil refugees in a state of fear (30 May 2014)
DAP slams 'cruel and inhuman' deportation from Malaysia (30 May 2014)
UN 'deeply concerned' over Malaysian deportations (29 May 2014)
Malaysia must do 'all it can' to ensure safety of deported refugees – HRW (28 May 2014)
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