10 foreign detainees flee Sri Lanka camp

Ten foreigners have escaped over the past few days from the special detention camp in Mirihana, a Colombo suburb, according to an official of Sri Lanka’s Department of Immigration and Emigration (DIE).

Among the escapees are four Pakistan nationals, including a journalist.

The ‘Colombo Gazette’ reported on Sunday April 14 that owing to overcrowding at the special detention camp, the DIE has decided to suspend detaining foreigners there.

Controller of DIE, Director-General Chulananda Perera said there are over 100 foreigners detained at the camp though it can hold only 70 people. Until the overcrowding issue is resolved, foreigners who are arrested will be released after seizing their passports, he said..

He further noted that the DIE will ask foreigners to come with valid air tickets to get their passports to return to their countries. Foreigners detained for violating visa regulations are handed over to embassy officials to be returned to their respective countries.

However, Perera said that most embassy officials fail to take custody of their citizens by visiting the detention camp while some foreigners seek Sri Lankan citizenship and refuse to return to their country of origin.