War crimes accused former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reportedly been advised “not to leave” the hotel he is currently staying at in Thailand for “security reasons” according to a report in the Bangkok Post.
The newspaper quoted a source as stating that Thai police advised Rajapaksa not to leave the hotel, which is in the heart of Bangkok.
According to the Bangkok Post, “plainclothes police officers from the Special Branch Bureau have been deployed to ensure safety”.
Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka earlier this year in the wake of anti-government protests which forced him to resign. Fleeing to the Maldives and then Singapore, he has reportedly sought refuge in a state that will allow him to escape prosecution for crimes committed under his command, including the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils in 2009.
Thai foreign minister Don Pramudwinai has stated that Rajapaksa can stay in Thailand for 90 days as he is still a diplomatic passport holder, after he arrived in the country last week.
His flight into Thailand was reportedly diverted from Phuket to Bangkok, after Rajapaksa and the three people he travelled with were concerned that details of their arrival had been leaked. He was then said to have a Thai military and police escort to his hotel room, where to this day he remains.
Earlier this month, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) filed a criminal complaint to Singapore's Attorney General, seeking Rajapaksa's "immediate arrest" for committing war crimes. Days later, a group of 17 Tamil and human rights organisations from across the world, also issued a joint letter urging Singapore’s Attorney-General's Chambers to investigate and prosecute Rajapaksa for his involvement in international crimes during the culmination of the Tamil Genocide in 2009.
