‘Those who benefited from her actions forgot her’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

British citizen Kayleigh Fraser, who has been in hiding here since late 2022 following a deportation order issued by the then government over her reportage of the UPFA goons attack on Galle Face protesters, on social media platforms, wants the government to rescind that order, enabling her to leave the county.

Fraser’s counsel Nagananda Kodituwakku quoted her as having said that she doesn’t want to be deported under any circumstances. The government wanted her to surrender to pave the way for swift deportation, Kodituwakku said, alleging that the major beneficiary of the regime change operation, the National People’s Power (NPP), had failed to intervene on her behalf.

Responding to The Island queries, Kodituwakku said that they had appealed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on 03 October, 2024, but in vain. Dr. Ghanasena Wijesekara, a physician based in Melbourne, Australia, staged a protest outside the Presidential Secretariat on 11 November, 2024. He said: “We received an assurance that the deportation order would be rescinded following the parliamentary elections and a new request was made on the same day. But, the NPP government didn’t keep its promise,” Kodituwakku said.

The lawyer said that Premier Dr. Harini Amarasuriya should have looked into the plight of Fraser as she was aware of her role in support of the campaign against the Rajapaksa government and subsequently the Ranil-Rajapaksa government. “We expect Premier Amarasuriya to intervene at least now,” Koditiwakku said.

Koditiwakku said the British High Commission had declined to help. According to him, the BHC position was made clear at a special meeting called to discuss formal representations made on Fraser’s behalf.

Kodituwakku explained that the government intensified action against Fraser in the wake of Wickremesinghe appointment as the President in late July, 2022. Like the JVP/NPP, another beneficiary of the protest campaign refrained from helping the only foreigner who campaigned for their cause, Kodituwakku said.

Immigration officials, accompanied by police, raided Fraser’s property in Battaramulla on 02 August, 2022, took her passport and ordered her to report to Immigration Headquarters, within a week. On a request made by her friends in the UK, Kodituwakku took up her case pro bono, and accompanied her to the Controller of Immigration on 08 August, 2022. Having denied her legal counsel an opportunity to be present during the questioning, Immigration Headquarters, on 10 August, 2022, returned her passport with a removal order mandating her departure by August 15. Her legitimate leave to remain in the country, originally valid until March 8, 2023, was arbitrarily cancelled with the word “UTILIZED” stamped across her visa page.

Kodituwakku claimed that due to the highly politicised nature of the case, prominent President’s Counsel Geoff Alagaratnam declined to represent her, leaving him to defend Fraser.

Kodituwakku said that they challenged the immigration decision before the Court of Appeal. When the application came before the court on 22 September, 2022, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena declined to grant a hearing on the technical ground that certified copies of the Court of Appeal proceedings had not been filed.

Although, they filed a fresh application (SC/Spl/LA/246/22) on September 13, 2022, the then Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya fixed the matter for support on December 08, 2022, before Justice Priyantha Jayawardena, though Fraser requested that she didn’t want the same judges, who had refused her earlier appeal, to hear the new case.

Kodituwakku said that Fraser had gone underground after Justice Jayawardena, on 08 December, 2022, postponed the case for seven months, to 07 June, 2023,

BHC provides consular assistance

The Island sought a response from the British High Commission to allegations that the BHC failed to help Fraser. BHC spokesperson said that they had been providing consular assistance to her.