A Sri Lankan national, suspected of involvement in the country’s Easter Sunday bombings in 2019, is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. The case involves allegations that he was connected to attacks that killed 269 people, including eight British citizens, and targeted three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo.
The man, granted anonymity for legal reasons, fled to Britain after being arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of links to the attacks but later released on bail. He argued that he would face persecution if returned to Sri Lanka. The British Home Office rejected his asylum claim in April 2024, with an appeal dismissed in March 2025.
A judge found that the earlier decision contained legal mistakes but rejected his accusation of bias, stating, “I find that there is no merit in this ground whatsoever.” The case was ordered to return to the first-tier tribunal for a complete rehearing, with none of the previous findings preserved.
The 2019 bombings have been attributed to Islamist extremist groups believed to have ties to the Islamic State, with victims including Christians, tourists, and children. The United Kingdom faces pressure on its asylum system, with asylum applications reaching a record high of more than 111,000 in the year ending June 2025, a 14 percent rise compared with the previous year.
