Islamist terror suspect who was questioned over Sri Lanka bombings seeks asylum in Britain
The man, who has been granted anonymity, claimed he 'fears persecution'
A suspected Islamist terrorist questioned over the 2019 Easter bombings in Sri Lanka which killed 269 people is reportedly seeking asylum in the UK.
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The unnamed Sri Lankan man was detained over allegations he was involved in the attack which left six Brits dead including a mother and her two children.
The suspect was arrested in 2022 but was released on bail before he left his home country and travelled to the UK the same year to claim asylum, the Telegraph reports.
He told an immigration panel that police had attended his family home and that he "fears persecution" if he returns. It is understood he denies the allegations.
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The attacks targeted a series of churches, luxury hotels and homes, and were all carried out by suicide bombers.
His asylum claim for his wife and himself was initially rejected by the Home Office, but the unnamed man was successful in an appeal against the decision at an upper immigration tribunal and his case will now be reheard.
The bombings ombings saw 269 people killed and injured 500 more in churches and top-end hotels across Sri Lanka.
Among them were Britons Anita Nicholson, 42, and her children, Alexander, 14 and Annabel, 11, who died in an explosion at the Shangri-la Hotel in Colombo.
Last week, the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced major reforms to the asylum system which included making refugee status temporary and giving ministers powers to return migrants to their home country once it was deemed safe.
An upper tribunal judgment said: "[The Sri Lankan] had applied for protection on his own behalf and on behalf of his wife.
"He says that on Jan 5 2022 he was arrested and questioned in connection with the Easter bombings, which took place in Sri Lanka on April 21 2019.
"He says that he was released only on the payment of a substantial bribe and was subject to reporting conditions. He left Sri Lanka for the United Kingdom on Sept 2 2022 and an arrest warrant was issued thereafter on Sept 15 2022.
"He says that the police have attended his family home in Sri Lanka, and he fears persecution if returned to Sri Lanka."
The migrant argued that the first-tier tribunal made mistakes and that the judge was "biased," and that the "arrest warrant was not issued until after he left Sri Lanka, which the judge failed to appreciate."
Claire Burns, the deputy upper tribunal judge, found that the previous hearing had made a series of errors, including it being missed that the man had been released on bail following an arrest warrant.
The facts of the case will be reheard at the first-tier tribunal at a later date.