Eswatini: British-Held Asylum Seeker Dies in Mbabane After Legal Limbo

Bangkok — Kishanth Peramaiya spent two years in a legal limbo after a British authority granted him international protection. A Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seeker detained by the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) administration for nearly five years died by apparent suicide on 13 September in Mbabane, Eswatini's largest city, according to local news reports and relatives of the deceased. His death comes two years after the BIOT administration granted him international protection, preventing his forcible return to Sri Lanka, during which time he lived in a legal limbo in multiple countries. Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines Kishanth Peramaiya, 36, was one of 89 Tamil asylum seekers who had fled Sri Lanka and India before being rescued by the Royal Navy in October 2021 when their fishing vessel faltered near the British-held island of Diego Garcia, which lies within BIOT. Hundreds of additional arrivals followed on later vessels, most of whom agreed to return to Sri Lanka or left by boat to Mauritius or the French island of Réunion. Around 60 remained in BIOT custody, living in a fenced tent camp in Diego Garcia's tightly controlled UK-US military facility. They faced rat infestations, deteriorating psychological and medical conditions, and the threat of being prosecuted or shot if they violated strict movement restrictions. Most were approved to enter the UK in November 2024. The following month, the BIOT Supreme Court ruled their detention on the island had been unlawful. But Kishanth was one of three members of the group denied entry to the UK because they had been convicted of crimes or were under criminal investigation during their detention. Another is serving the remainder of a three-year prison sentence in Montserrat for sexual offences against a child; and the third appeared to be serving a sentence on Diego Garcia for an undisclosed crime as of April 2026. Kishanth's case, according to analysis by the London-based GSC Solicitors, "underscores the complexities of balancing humanitarian considerations with public safety concerns". His transfer to Eswatini and subsequent death raise further questions about how the UK government decided to address these complexities, particularly since his suicidality was known to UK authorities for years. Local media in Eswatini have reported that his transfer to the country was permanent. If confirmed, it would appear to be the first publicly documented instance of an asylum seeker being granted international protection by a British authority before being permanently resettled in a different country. The closest precedent was a 2022 plan to send asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda for processing and potential resettlement. This faced legal challenges and was scrapped in 2024 before transfers began. Three asylum seekers sent from Diego Garcia to Rwanda in 2023 for medical treatment said they were harassed or threatened there, including by a hospital worker. The New Humanitarian spoke by phone on 15 September to Kishanth's relatives in India, which hosts a large, effectively stateless Sri Lankan Tamil population. His mother said he was transferred from Diego Garcia to the Maldives six months ago because of the US-Iran war. A month later, she said, he was brought to Eswatini, where he received two successive three-month visas, the second of which was due to expire on 20 September. Swaziland News reported in July that an agreement between the UK and Eswatini governments allowed Kishanth to stay in the country permanently. "At the end of the period of up to three years, the UK will no longer cover any costs of the continued presence of the Relocated Migrant in Eswatini. The Relocated Migrant is expected to be self-sustaining as a member of Eswatini society," reads an excerpt of the agreement, according to the local outlet. An Eswatini lawmaker criticised the country's prime minister for turning the country into a "dumping ground" by admitting a "delinquen