Police urged to probe claims that Sri Lankan investigators came to Hong Kong to find asylum seekers who sheltered Snowden
Family of four and individual from Sri Lanka are worried about their safety given reputation of investigators for human rights abuses, lawmakers say
“The families [one family of four and one individual] are very afraid of the Sri Lankan government, in particular the Sri Lankan Police Criminal Investigation Department and the military, as these bodies have been cited for their human rights abuses by the United Nations,” a statement sent by pan-democrat legislators Charles Mok and James To Kun-sun read.
The note said the five, who are afraid of being illegally deported, would report the case to the city’s police. It also said they expected the local authorities to investigate the matter and wanted “necessary protection” to prevent any illegal cross-border law enforcement activities in Hong Kong.
Mok, To and the asylum seekers’ lawyer, Robert Tibbo, were not available for comment on Wednesday night.
Snowden was sheltered in Hong Kong in 2013 by a Sri Lankan family of four – Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis and Supun Thilina Kellapatha and their two children – and Ajith Pushpakumara, who is a former soldier. They are all waiting for the city’s government to process their protection claims.
The American whistle-blower who leaked sensitive intelligence files was also helped by a Filipino asylum seeker, who has a four-year-old daughter.