Sri Lankan authorities have arrested a 75-year-old Tamil refugee as he returned to the island at Palaly airport, despite being recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and obtaining all necessary clearance.
Former Member of Parliament and general secretary of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), M. A. Sumanthiran, condemned the arrest and continued detention in a post on X this morning.
The elderly man, who had lived for decades in a refugee camp in Tamil Nadu, returned to Sri Lanka through Palaly Airport in Jaffna with all required documentation. Despite this, he was taken into custody by immigration officers and subsequently handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). He was then produced before the Mallakam Magistrate’s Court, where CID officers objected to bail. The court ordered his remand until 5 June.
Sumanthiran, who is representing the refugee in court, publicly condemned the move and raised serious questions about the government’s intent. “Is this a move by the government to frighten 10k others who have registered to return?” he questioned.
I am making this information public after obtaining the permission from my client:
— M A Sumanthiran (@MASumanthiran) May 30, 2025
A 75 yr old returning refugee from a camp in India after obtaining all necessary clearance from all relevant agencies and certified as a “refugee” by UNHCR and assisted by them to return, was… 1/2
The incident has caused concern in the Eelam Tamil refugee community in India, particularly among those residing in camps across Tamil Nadu. Many have registered for voluntary repatriation under UNHCR-supported return programmes, holding on to the hope of returning to their homes in the North-East. However, the arrest of a legally cleared returnee has renewed fears over the safety and sincerity of Sri Lanka’s repatriation process.
The arrest highlights broader anxieties around the treatment of returning Tamil refugees, many of whom remain undocumented due to decades of war and displacement. Though international and local rights groups have long urged Colombo to facilitate voluntary, safe, and dignified returns, this latest incident underscores persistent barriers faced by those attempting to rebuild their lives in their homeland, even with international backing.
Recently the Supreme Court of India has dismissed a petition from an Eelam Tamil refugee and former LTTE member who sought permission to remain in the country with his family, in a ruling that underscores the precarious legal status of Eelam Tamil refugees in the country.
“Is India a dharamshala to host refugees from all over the world? We are struggling with a 140 crore population,” Justice Datta said. “India is not a dharamshala to entertain foreign nationals from all over.”
Many Eelam Tamils fled to India during and after the brutal final stages of Sri Lanka’s armed conflict in 2009, when the Sri Lankan military carried out mass atrocities against Tamil civilians, killing tens of thousands in what has increasingly been recognised as a genocide.