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UNHCR suspends repatriation of refugees to Lanka
Sunday Island
|August 24, 2025
UNHCR, the refugee agency of the United Nations, has temporarily suspended the process of facilitating the repatriation of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees apprehending arrest upon their arrival in Sri Lanka.
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The repatriation of seven refugees from Tiruchi to Colombo on August 14, 2025, was called off in the last minute amid reports of at least four refugees being detained on charges of violating immigration laws on arrival in Sri Lanka.
According to official sources, Freeman Richard Velvavandram (54), whose return was facilitated by the UNHCR was arrested on arrival at the Colombo international airport on August 12, 2025. He was produced before a Judicial Magistrate and let on bail. However, a review of the voluntary repatriation documentation revealed no prior security concerns associated with his return, the sources said.
Similarly on May 28, 2025, another Tamil refugee who left the country decades ago during the civil war was arrested after he landed in Jaffna.
This story is from the August 24, 2025 edition of Sunday Island.
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