Beaten and spied on, asylum seekers reveal oppression of being returned

The Guardian secures interviews with a Tamil and a Sinhalese asylum seeker Australia handed back to Sri Lanka last month

Sri Lankan naval vessel the Samudra is anchored after transferring 41 would-be asylum seekers intercepted by Australia to the southern port of Galle on 7 July.

Francis Wade in Sri Lanka-Wednesday 6 August 2014

The Sri Lankan navy vessel docked late one afternoon in Batticaloa. A group of 41 men, women and children disembarked, flanked by navy personnel. From the shore they were ordered into vans and driven through the night to Galle on the southern coast.

They continued to a navy camp, where they were held for a while before being driven on to a school hall, arriving around 9pm on 6 July. Inside, close to 100 officials from the criminal investigation wing of the Sri Lankan police force were already waiting, alerted in advance that a boatload of asylum seekers had been delivered back from Australia.

Demonstrators at a rally in Sydney protest against the Australian government’s treatment of Sri Lankan asylum seekers. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty

Beaten and Spied on, Asylum Seekers Reveal Oppression of Being Returned by Thavam