Thirteen Sri Lankan asylum seekers imprisoned in Israel : Reports

Thirteen Sri Lankans have been imprisoned in Israel for two weeks and deprived of rights, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post. The 13 reportedly fled to Israel on tourist visas after having received death threats following the unfolding political crisis in the country. According to the report the thirteen planned to apply for asylum in Israel.

Following questioning at Ben-Gurion Airport, in the absence of a translator and with one member of the group speaking on behalf of them all, the 11 men and two women were taken to the Yahalom detention facility.

For a week, according to the Jerusalem Post they were denied access to the outside world, forbidden to make phone calls, denied access to their own belongings and could not change clothes. In addition, they were denied access to medication. One of the group members, who suffers from kidney disease and diabetes, wound up hospitalized at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot. Later, the group was transferred to the Givon Prison.

Before they had been taken to Yahalom, one of the group members managed to send a message from his cell phone to the Sri Lankan community in Israel. The community turned to the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, who then sent lawyers to meet with them, reports said.

Following negotiations, they were allowed to briefly enter the Yahalom facility to hear their story and receive a power of attorney to represent the group.

From there, said Hotline for Refugees and Migrants attorney Tal Steiner, the lawyers raced to court because the state was threatening to deport them immediately.

The state, Steiner said, claimed that Yahalom is extraterritorial territory, and the laws of the state do not apply there, therefore, “the state has the authority to hold them there in custody indefinitely and without judicial review.”