Britain deported 26 Sri Lankans after rejecting their pleas for asylum, a Sri Lankan official said, and human rights activists expressed concern for their safety in their homeland, according to AP. The 26 people were being questioned by immigration officials after arriving in Sri Lanka on Friday, police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody said. Hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans fled to Britain, other European countries and neighboring India during the country's 26-year civil war. Many obtained citizenship, while some live as refugees. Most asylum seekers are ethnic minority Tamils, and the Sri Lankan government views them with distrust, suspecting links to the now-defeated Tamil Tiger rebels. It was unclear Friday if any of the 26 returnees was detained by the Sri Lankan authorities at the airport. Rights group Amnesty International had protested the deportation, saying the Sri Lankans faced the risk of being tortured when they returned to their country. «Nobody should be deported from the UK if they are at risk of torture. The end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka in May 2009 has not diminished the risks faced by rejected Sri Lankan asylum seekers, who continue to be subjected to arrest and detention upon their arrival in Sri Lanka,» Yolanda Foster, the group's Sri Lanka researcher said in a statement. The United Nations estimates 80,000 to 100,000 people were killed in the civil war, while human rights groups say the number could be much higher.
