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Family members of dead asylum seeker seek asylum in Switzerland
Three of the four family members of the Sri Lankan asylum seeker who was shot dead by the Swiss Police are seeking asylum in Switzerland after that country on humanitarian grounds gave them one-week visitor visas to attend the funeral.
A Swiss Embassy official (right) meets family members of the deceased in Mullaitivu
In Colombo, Swiss embassy officials confirmed that an incident had taken place in the city of Brissago (Canton of Tessin), resulting in the death of a Sri Lankan asylum seeker. A spokesperson said that on humanitarian grounds, Switzerland had facilitated the visit of close family members of the deceased to visit the country to attend the funeral.
He said three family members — the mother and two sisters of the diseased — had sought permission to continue their stay in Switzerland, while the whereabouts of the fourth family member, the brother of the diseased, were not known.
Subramaniam Haran, 38, from Mullaitivu was fatally shot by a Swiss Police officer on October 6, after he was seen wielding a knife and charging at two other asylum seekers following a brawl. The Swiss police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Mr. Haran, a father of two, had been living in a centre for asylum seekers in the Swiss canton of Ticino since he sought asylum in 2015.