Sri Lanka’s foreign minister lashed out at Switzerland on Tuesday, as Colombo denied permission for a Swiss embassy employee who had been abducted and assaulted to fly out of the country for medical treatment.

Tamil refugees who fled from Sri Lanka to Australia following the civil war in 2009, have spoken to SBS News about their experiences of being deported back to the island.

After displacement, loss of family and safety fears at the end of the civil war, many Tamils boarded on boats to reach Australia in hopes of rebuilding their lives. Many of these asylum seekers took our arduous loans just to board these boats. Whilst on board, they can go days without proper food and water whilst enduring tough conditions with many other asylum seekers. Those who do finally reach Australia face many struggles to be granted asylum with many being sent back to Sri Lanka despite fears for their safety. 

See testimonies from the SBS News piece below. See the full piece here.

Canada’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka met with accused war criminal and newly appointed president Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week, despite continued concerns over human rights abuses under his tenure.

High Commissioner David McKinnon described his visit to Rajapaksa as “a useful first meeting”.

The Colombo Chief Magistrate has announced a travel ban against the Swiss embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted in the southern capital last week, officially barring here from leaving Sri Lanka.

The announcement comes after reports emerged on Monday that Colombo’s international airport has been alerted by Sri Lankan authorities, that the victim may try and flee the island. 

Following a decision to the head of law at Jaffna University Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan from engaging in private legal practice, Sri Lanka’s University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that all academic staff members can no longer practise as attorneys.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) shares concerns that journalists in Sri Lanka have been subject to different forms of intimidation since Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as president. 

In a statement, RSF said that press freedom has been impacted just weeks after Gotabaya took office as president. 

A ceremony was held in Vavuniya to mark 35 years since the Cheddikulam massacre, where the Sri Lankan military disappeared 52 Tamil men and boys.

Switzerland’s Federal Court has ruled that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) is not a criminal organisation and that its primary goal was to establish an independent homeland, in a landmark ruling that has seen 12 Swiss Tamils acquitted of charges filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

Switzerland’s State Secretary Pascale Baeriswyl has summoned Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Bern, after Colombo dismissed accounts of an embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted by unknown men last week.

The Sri Lankan government has reportedly alerted Colombo’s international airport that a Swiss embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted by unknown men last week, may plan an attempt to leave the island.

Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission said that “justice must be done” in response to the abduction and threatening of a Swiss embassy employee in Colombo last week.

In a letter written to Sri Lanka’s police chief, the Human Rights Commission said it was “deeply concerned” over reports of the abduction and said that holding those responsible to account was “absolutely essential” to strengthen public confidence in law enforcement.

Sri Lanka's President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, issued a gazette stating that he is proroguing Parliament with effect from midnight of December 2 until January 3 2020.

The head of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) warned that if the Sri Lankan government continued to avoid its international commitments, it may soon be termed a “failed state”.