Viraj Mendis is a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n national who claimed the right of

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

at the Church of the Ascension in

Hulme Hulme () is an inner city area and electoral ward of Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage. Historically in Lancashire, the name Hulme is derived from the Old Norse word for ...

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during the 1980s. Mendis had arrived in the UK in October 1973 on a twelve-month

student visa A visa (from the Latin ''charta visa'', meaning "paper that has been seen") is a conditional authorization granted by a polity to a foreigner that allows them to enter, remain within, or leave its territory. Visas typically include limits on t ...

but overstayed his visa. He was an active supporter of the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

s and, in the UK, the Revolutionary Communist Group and claimed danger of death if he was sent back to Sri Lanka. Following a march to protest against his deportation on 20 December 1986 he ran into the Church of the Ascension and claimed the

right of sanctuary The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another entit ...

. He stayed in the church for the next two years with the help of the rector John Methuen. The church became the focus of the "Viraj Mendis Defence Campaign" against his deportation. In late 1988 his supporters were invited to address an assembly at

Burnage High School Burnage Academy for Boys, formerly known as Burnage High School for Boys, is a secondary school with academy status, located in Burnage, Manchester, England. History Grammar school The school was founded in September 1932 as Burnage High Schoo ...

, Pupils were encouraged to enlist the help of parents to his cause. One parent took exception to this and contacted the ''

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'', the story was then picked up on by ''

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''; shortly after Mendis was removed. On 18 January 1989 police raided the church and arrested Mendis, which led to a large demonstration and questions in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

. He was deported back to Sri Lanka and his fears did not materialize. Mendis claimed his case had received so much publicity that the Sri Lankan government did not dare to harm him. Eight British activists accompanied him to Sri Lanka to offer protection. He was later granted asylum in Germany and became chairperson of the

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(Internationaler Menschenrechtsverein Bremen) and worked defending refugees facing deportation, and on Tamil liberation. While in Sri Lanka, Mendis married his partner Karen Roberts, and has thus been able to return to the UK several times. In 2010 he was refused permission to enter for the funeral service of John Methuen. In 2018 Mendis' organisation concluded a successful campaign to defend 13 activists, 12 of them Tamil, against charges of "fraud, false documentation, money laundering and extortion". In June of that year, the 13 were found not guilty by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court. The Sri Lankan Government subsequently listed him as a terrorist.

References

Living people Right of asylum in the United Kingdom People from Hulme Sinhalese activists Year of birth missing (living people) {{SriLanka-activist-stub