Sri Lanka: Tamil Tigers Leader Quits Uk After War Crimes Inquiry is Dropped

A Tamil paramilitary leader jailed for entering Britain on a fraudulent diplomatic passport and subsequently investigated by the Metropolitan police for alleged war crimes has left Britain.

Colonel Karuna Amman returned to Sri Lanka on Thursday. It is not clear whether he was deported or opted for voluntary repatriation after withdrawing an application for asylum.

Amman's breakaway Tamil paramilitary group, the TVMP, which now supports the Colombo government, has been accused of abducting teenagers, forcing them to serve as child soldiers. Karuna entered the UK on a forged diplomatic passport. He was arrested in a police raid in London last summer. During his trial for immigration offences in January it was said that the diplomatic passport and UK visa were supplied to him by Sri Lanka's defence minister. The country's high commission in London denied the allegation.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the government for failing to bring war crimes charges. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch in London, said: "This was a rare opportunity to hold a leader of the Tamil Tigers accountable for horrific human rights abuses, and the British government blew it."

In response to a freedom of information request by the Guardian the Crown Prosecution Service said that there was no "realistic prospect" of a conviction against Col Karuna "based on the evidence that has been submitted to the CPS". Karuna's wife and children live in the UK.