Tamil deportations from UK blocked

The High Court in London has blocked the deportation of a group of failed Tamil asylum seekers scheduled to be sent back to Sri Lanka yesterday. The ruling means they will be able to remain in the UK pending investigations into their contention that they will be tortured if they are made to return.

The UK Border Agency told the BBC that it was "disappointed" by the ruling, and that it would appeal. Human Rights groups say some Tamils sent back earlier had been tortured.

They say that in some cases they were subjected to abuse because of their alleged links to separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. The Sri Lankan government denies this. Sri Lanka's civil war came to an end in 2009, after 26 years of conflict and up to 100,000 casualties as the Tamil Tigers fought for independence.

It is believed to be the first time that a UK courts has blocked the deportation of a group of Tamils to Sri Lanka, although many individuals over the last 18 months have won last-minute court injunctions pre- venting their return. In a statement released late on Wednesday, the Border Agency said the ruling did "not represent a blanket ban on returns to Sri Lanka".

Human Rights Watch want security force members to be held criminally liable for the abuses.

However lawyers for Tamils under threat of deportation insist that it has wider implications, because it applies to all other failed Tamil asylum seekers.(