A terrified Scottish blogger has gone into hiding in Sri Lanka over fears for her safety after authorities revoked her visa when she began sharing videos online of a civil uprising.
We previously told how St Andrew's woman Kayleigh Fraser, 34, also had her passport seized after six immigration officers turned up at home in August after she had been vocal on social media about ongoing protests in Colombo since Ranil Wickremesinghe took charge on July 21.
The medical researcher, who is originally from St. Andrews, has now gone on the run, fearing she will either being jailed or deported without her possessions.
Speaking to the Daily Record from an undisclosed location, Kayleigh said: "This has been a nightmare. I've no passport, I'm running very low on cash and I barely trust anyone. I’m totally exhausted and sick of living like I’m some kind of criminal.
"I don’t know what they will do to me if they arrest me. These people have shown their brutality - I'm scared to go into their custody.
"I’m pretty scared about how I will even be able to leave the country."
Kayleigh, who travelled to the country to study plant medicine ahead of applying for a PhD, says she is moving from place to place and removing her SIM card from her phone after being told detectives may have been using it to track her whereabouts.
She said her friends they have been intimidated by officers, including with threats of physical violence, as they hunt for Scottish woman - who they are said to describe as a 'drug trafficker'.
Kayleigh added: "CID and immigration went to my friend's house assaulted him. They pushed him against a wall with a metal bar to his throat and demanded he tell them where I am.
"His partner is heavily pregnant. They took their belongings like their phones and laptops too - just because they were with me that day and they had somehow found out I was there."
Now Kayleigh says she has been left relying on the hospitality of those helping to protect her while she waits for a court case later this month that she hopes will return her documents and allow her to leave the country. She is being helped by human rights lawyer Nagananda Kodituwakku.
She continued: "This is a government that operates on assault and intimidation and so many people who have never met me have taken great personal risk to give me food and shelter.
"Nagananda keeps reassuring me that this will be resolved. If the worst comes to worst I’m 100% getting out of here. f they catch me I will be detained and deported, but I will make a plan to leave."
Sri Lanka has been criticised by international observers for its military-style policing in the wake of the protests that unfolded earlier this year as food prices doubled and inflation rose to 70%.
Yamini Mishra, of Amnesty International, said last month that the authorities have used "force, intimidation and harassment to subdue protestors".
Police Scotland ended a deal to train Sri Lankan forces last year following criticism of the tactics being used against civilians.
Sri Lankan authorities have not responded to the Record's enquiries since we first reported on Kayleigh's situation in August.
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