 Photographs: Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka |
A Tamil asylum seeker who suffered from torture at the hands of the Sri Lankan government has won a last minute reprieve from deportation to the island, after his lawyers successfully passed an emergency injunction against his removal.
Kannan Kalimuththu, a 36 year old former Tamil Eelam policeman from Puthukudiyirippu escaped to the UK in 2014, after suffering from extensive torture and sexual violence by Sri Lankan security forces. Mr Kalimuththu had witnessed the final days of the armed conflict, where he saw the shelling of unarmed Tamils by the Sri Lankan military – making him a key witness to the mass atrocities that took place, says Journalists for Democracy Sri Lanka.
Mr Kalimuththu's ordeal, which involved electric, being beaten and sexually abused, led to him being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. A psychiatrist in the UK said that since fleeing Sri Lanka, Mr Kalimuththu has made two suicide attempts that were "serious with the clear intent to die".
Channel 4 reported the psychiatrist as adding Mr Kalimuththu was “severely depressed and hopeless” and said the fear of deportation has led to his mental state to “deteriorate dramatically”.
"The fact that there has been a recent change of governments in Sri Lanka doesn’t mean that people with his profile won’t be tortured, since the police have not been reformed and the views of former Tamil Tigers haven’t changed," he said.
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The UK has been criticised for attempting to remove Mr Kalimuththu, with Mansfield Chamber Barrister Shivani Jegarajah saying “This is a serious breach of the Home Office policy on detaining asylum seekers.”
The Home Office though defended the attempted removal, stating,
"Where people have a valid point, a valid complaint, we will take it up. This is something the whole government feels strongly about. So be in no doubt: where there are issues, we will investigate them."
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