UK Grants Asylum to Individual Linked to Easter Sunday Jihad Attack That Claimed 269 Lives
- Mahamunimodi Team
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
A Sri Lankan national previously arrested in connection with the horrific 2019 Easter Sunday bombings has won a significant legal victory after successfully appealing the UK Home Office’s refusal of his asylum application.
The individual, identified in court documents only as “YA”, secured a favourable ruling from the Immigration Upper Tribunal in Birmingham, where he challenged the Home Office’s initial rejection. His case had raised serious questions about the fairness and procedural integrity of the earlier decision-making process.
The 2019 Easter attacks—coordinated suicide bombings targeting churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka—were claimed by the Islamic State and resulted in 269 deaths, including several British citizens. It remains one of the deadliest and most traumatic terror events in the country’s history, casting a long shadow over subsequent investigations and political discourse.
YA and his spouse arrived in the United Kingdom in 2022, seeking protection and asserting that they had been subjected to persecution in Sri Lanka. Before leaving the country, YA had been detained by Sri Lankan authorities as part of sweeping arrests linked to the Easter bombings, despite later contesting any wrongdoing. His legal team argued that this prior detention and the climate of suspicion surrounding the attacks placed him at serious risk should he be forced to return.
The Upper Tribunal, upon reviewing his appeal, found that the original asylum proceedings may have been marred by procedural irregularities or an incomplete assessment of the evidence. As a result, the tribunal set aside the Home Office’s decision, ordering the case to be reheard afresh, giving YA another opportunity to present his claims under fairer scrutiny.
Despite the couple’s assertions of persecution and danger, the Home Office had initially concluded that YA did not meet the criteria for asylum in the UK. With the tribunal’s intervention, however, the matter now returns for a new hearing—one that could determine whether the Sri Lankan national will ultimately be granted refuge in Britain.
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