Eswatini: British-Held Asylum Seeker Dies By Apparent Suicide in Eswatini
[The New Humanitarian] Bangkok -- Kishanth Peramaiya spent two years in a legal limbo after a British authority granted him international protection.
British asylum seeker Kishanth Peramaiya died by apparent suicide in Eswatini on September 13, local news reports and relatives say. He had spent two years in legal limbo after receiving international protection from a British authority two years prior. Kishanth, a Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker, was among 89 Tamil refugees rescued from a sinking fishing vessel near the British territory of Diego Garcia in October 2021.
He remained in a fenced tent camp on Diego Garcia, facing hardships and threats of prosecution. Three of the asylum seekers were denied entry to the UK due to criminal convictions. Kishanth's transfer to Eswatini led to questions about the UK's handling of these cases, particularly since his suicidality was known to authorities.
If confirmed, Kishanth's death would mark the first documented instance of an asylum seeker being permanently resettled in a different country after receiving international protection.
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