Karuna to seek asylum in UK?

LTTE renegade commander, Karuna Amman, who was sentenced to nine months in a British prison for entering the country on false travel documents, is set to seek political asylum in the United Kingdom, a top immigration source disclosed yesterday.

Vinayagamoorthy Muralitheran, alias Karuna, who has retained a high profile counsel in Solicitor David Philips, is set to appeal against deportation after serving his imprisonment term.

Philips was expected to apply for solitary confinement for Karuna, amidst reports that he was threatened and treated harshly by other Tamil suspects, when in remand at the South East London Belmarsh Prison, where the worst criminals and terrorists are housed.

Interrogated by the Scotland Yard, Karuna was likely to face trial for war crime charges, a demand by several international human rights organisations. Karuna faces another jail sentence if he is found guilty of war crimes such as killings, abductions, torture and child soldier recruitment.

While lawyers have described the Belmarsh prison as being “entombed in concrete,” human rights organisations have branded it as Britain’s own Guantanamo.

Legal sources disclosed that Karuna would apply for political asylum on compassionate grounds, stating that he could not take up residence in Sri Lanka, as he faced a threat to his life.

As criminal proceedings take precedence over civil, legal sources said Karuna would first have to serve his sentence before he applies for political asylum, a procedure that would normally take up to three years, unless fast tracked over a period of six months.

Karuna Amman’s wife and children are domiciled in the United Kingdom.