Further proof that ‘asylum seeking’ today is not the same as it was during the Cold War.
Asylum seeker from Sri Lanka let himself be tortured with hot iron bars to support his bid to stay in Britain
- The man, 35, said they showed how he was badly treated in his native country
- The Court of Appeal ruled it was a ruse called ‘self-infliction by proxy’ or SIBP
- Lord Justice Sales also raised doubts over his relationship with the Tamil Tigers
An asylum seeker allowed himself to be tortured with hot iron bars to support his bid to stay in the UK, judges have ruled.
He claimed five scars on his back were evidence of how he was badly treated by authorities in his native Sri Lanka.
But rejecting his claims, the Court of Appeal ruled that he probably consented to the torture in as part of a ruse called ‘self-infliction by proxy’ or SIBP.
It also raised doubts about his relationship with the Tamil Tigers and his alleged detention and escape from the country.
The man arrived in the UK on a fake passport six years ago before claiming asylum. He is thought to have racked up enormous legal bills at taxpayers’ expense in his desperate bid to avoid deportation.
He claims that he was detained in the aftermath of a Tamil Tigers attack on Colombo airport in 2007 over possible links to the organisation.
Lord Justice Sales questioned the man’s relationship with the Tamil Tigers and his alleged detention and escape from the country
His alleged torture occurred in August 2009, where it was claimed he ‘felt intense pain from the first burn’ before falling unconscious while receiving other burns.In support of his torture claim, he produced a medical report from a professor that backed the theory.
The man also claimed he would face ‘a real risk of persecution’ if deported because authorities would regard him as having been ‘actively involved’ with the Tamil Tigers.
Dismissing his appeal, Lord Justice Sales said the earlier tribunal hearing – which rejected the asylum seeker’s claims – had ‘conscientiously balanced the probabilities of infliction of the scarring by SIBP and by torture’.
