Sri Lankan refugees who sheltered fugitive whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong have been targeted by agents from their home nation, a lawyer and legislators said on Thursday.
The story of how impoverished refugees helped the former US National Security Agency contractor, who initiated one of the largest data leaks in US history, evade authorities in 2013 only emerged in September last year, propelling them into the media spotlight.
Snowden’s former hosts Supun Thilina Kellapatha and ex-soldier Ajith Pushpakumara on Thursday told reporters they were “scared and nervous” about the agents’ activities in Hong Kong.
“I don’t feel stable ... I don’t have a normal life now,” said Supun, a target of politically motivated violence, according to his protection claim.
Accompanying the asylum seekers, their lawyer Robert Tibbo and pro-democracy legislators James To (涂謹申) and Charles Mok (莫乃光) believe Sri Lankan agents have targeted the pair.
In an incident which tipped Tibbo off, another asylum seeker from Sri Lanka was allegedly approached by two agents identifying themselves as officers from the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department, which has previously been accused of kidnapping and torture.
The agents, who were carrying files containing information about and photographs of Snowden’s temporary hosts, asked for specific details about them, Tibbo said.
The asylum seekers’ families in Sri Lanka have also been harassed and threatened by police, military and government officials about their exact whereabouts and telephone numbers, with “clear intentions to locate” them, Tibbo said.
“There’s actually a treaty between the Hong Kong government and the Sri Lankan government for extradition ... All they would have to do is make the formal request to the government and they’ve never done that,” Tibbo said. “It’s quite clear that the Sri Lankan government has an interest in our clients’ relationship with Mr Snowden.”
However, Sri Lankan authorities denied the claim.
“The police have no interest in the two individuals or their families,” a senior police source said in Colombo. “The Sri Lankan police does not have the time or the resources to send people to Hong Kong as alleged.”
Tibbo said the territory’s immigration department had been notified and he would soon report it to the police.
To and Mok said they would urge the Hong Kong government and the police to offer protection to the asylum seekers and ensure their safety.
“I think the world owes them quite a heavy debt for … [their help to] advance the cause of people who are concerned about surveillance and privacy violations by governments,” Mok said.
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