A compensation case has been filed by Swiss lawyers on behalf of a Tamil asylum seeker who faced torture and sexual abuse persecution upon his return to Sri Lanka.
The man, identified as Mr. ES to protect his family's safety, was rejected for asylum in Switzerland and subsequently tortured and sexually violated after his return to Sri Lanka in 2022. The case, brought forward by Emma Lidén and Bénédict de Moerloose from the law firm Peter & Moreau SA, in collaboration with the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), urges Switzerland to halt the forced return of Tamil asylum seekers to Sri Lanka and reassess all pending applications, considering the proven risk of persecution.
Emma Lidén highlighted that despite having substantial evidence of the dangers Mr. ES faced if returned to Sri Lanka, the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) neglected to assess the risk of persecution, leading to severe revictimisation and trauma upon his return. The case seeks CHF 150,000 in moral damages, arguing that Switzerland's failure to properly evaluate his case contravened obligations under the Convention Against Torture and the European Court of Human Rights.
“At the time when Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) had multiple concrete
pieces of evidence demonstrating the risks incurred by our client in the event of his return to Sri
Lanka, they refused to analyse the risk of persecution. By disregarding both the new and
alarming information in his file and his clear expressions of distress, they exposed him to severe
revictimisation and retraumatisation upon his return to Sri Lanka”, said Emma Lidén.
Yasmin Sooka, executive director of the ITJP, noted that Mr. ES’s case is not an isolated incident, emphasizing the critical need for more careful handling of asylum claims involving life-threatening circumstances.
“Mr. ES is not the only case we have seen of a Tamil being deported to Sri Lanka from a
European country and then detained and tortured again. Asylum authorities are handling life
and death cases and though these cases are complex to assess officials do need to do a more
careful job,” said Sooka.
Mr. ES, now a recognized refugee in the UK, where he was granted asylum in late 2024, obtained an independent medical-legal report validating his account of torture, which was unavailable to him in Switzerland. He is part of a psychosocial support project in the UK, managed by the ITJP, which now faces funding challenges.
His history as a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) exposed him to extreme torture and abuse after surrendering to the Sri Lankan Army in 2009. He was detained and tortured in infamous army camps, including Joseph Camp and Boosa Detention Centre, suffering permanent physical and psychological damage.
“I felt like I was in hell. I was thinking that it would be better if I had died from shelling in the
war rather than being tortured every day… at least then the death would be quick,” he told the
ITJP.
Upon his return to Sri Lanka in 2022, Mr. ES was abducted and subjected to brutal interrogations, resulting in severe injuries and lasting trauma. He managed to escape to the UK, where he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, plagued by flashbacks and insomnia from his horrific experiences.
The full statement from the ITJP can be found here.