❓WHAT HAPPENED: An asylum seeker linked to the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019 successfully appealed the British Home Office’s rejection of his asylum claim.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The asylum seeker, identified only as ‘YA,’ and Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge Claire Burns.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued recently at the Immigration Upper Tribunal in Birmingham, England.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I find there will need to be a complete rehearing wherein the Judge will make findings about the credibility of [YA’s] account,” Burns ruled.
🎯IMPACT: The case will be reheard, allowing a fresh examination of the asylum seeker’s claims.
A migrant who was previously arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019 has won an appeal against the British Home Office’s rejection of his asylum application. The attacks, which took the lives of 269 people at churches and hotels, including American and British citizens, were claimed by the Islamic State.
Identified only as ‘YA,’ the migrant successfully challenged the decision at the Immigration Upper Tribunal in Birmingham. Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge Claire Burns claimed there were significant legal flaws in the initial decision to reject his claim. “I find there will need to be a complete rehearing wherein the Judge will make findings about the credibility of [YA’s] account,” she ruled.
Immigration judges in Britain, which grants asylum to migrants at a much higher rate than comparable European countries such as France and Germany, are in many cases known activists with a strong bias towards granting applications on the flimsiest pretexts, with dozens having ties to pro-open borders nonprofits.
The “YA” comes amid a record surge in asylum applications in the United Kingdom. According to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data, Britain received 108,000 asylum claims in 2024, the highest ever recorded and a 28 percent increase from the previous year. Illegal crossings of the English Channel also rose, with 44,000 reported attempts. Whistleblowers have warned that the current system has, in some instances, approved migrants known to have prior convictions or serious allegations against them, including for sexual assault.
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