Janarthanan, who had come to Australia after fleeing the Sri Lankan authorities, had left a suicide note saying he would rather die in Australia than die in Sri Lanka, Mr Grant said. Tamil asylum seekers are living in continual fear that they will be sent back to Sri Lanka, he said.
A report by the Human Rights Law Centre last month showed many asylum seekers who are sent back to the country face the threat of torture from the very authorities they had fled.
Late last month the United Nations Human Rights Council ordered an international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Australia did not co-sponsor the bill.
Sydney Morning Herald report 10 April 2014 - right click on
self immolation by Sri Lankan asylum seeker
