No lawful authority for immigration officers to prevent Prez from flying out - SLIEOA

The Immigration & Emigration Officers’ Association (SLIEOA) says its members have no lawful authority to prevent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa from leaving the country as he is still officially in office.

Early yesterday morning, former Minister Basil Rajapaksa had tried to leave the country from the BIA, however, he was forced to turn back after the immigration officers at the BIA declined to serve him at the Silk Route departure lounge for VIPs.

The Immigration & Emigration Officers’ Association later said its members have withdrawn from providing services citing security concerns and tremendous pressure to not allow top-level figures to fly out of the country.