British national under probe for posting anti-govt protests on social media
The Department of Immigration and Emigration is investigating whether Kayleigh Fraser, the British national, whose passport has been taken into custody after she posted on social media anti-government protests, violated her visa conditions.The Department said Fraser had been in Sri Lanka for medical reasons. She has been staying in Sri Lanka since 2019. During that time, she had returned home several times, it said.
When Immigration and Emigration officers were asked by journalists whether there was any valid reason to visit Fraser at her home and seize her passport, they said that they were yet to determine if the British national had violated her visa conditions.The Department has asked Fraser to visit them within the next seven days and they would commence the inquiry after questioning her.
Fraser on Tuesday said that a group of immigration officers had visited her and asked for her travel document. She said that officials had told her that they would return her passport after she visits the Department of Immigration and Emigration.
Fraser added that she had received an anonymous call asking her to leave Sri Lanka as soon as possible before facing ‘big problems.’ Immigration officials visited her house a few days after the call.Fraser had shared a number of photographs and videos from the Gota Go Gama site.Human Rights groups and activists have accused the Sri Lankan government of using emergency regulations to harass and arbitrarily detain activists seeking political reform and accountability for the country’s economic crisis.
