A frantic Scottish blogger fears being stranded abroad fo six months after having her passport seized by the authorities.
Kayleigh Fraser, from St Andrews, has been left devastated after British diplomats said they are unable to force the Sri Lankan government to return her documents.
The medical researcher has been living in the country since last year and has been locked in a legal battle with immigration officials on the island for months after they accused her of breaching the terms of her visa. It came after she bravely shared images of a civil uprising on social media.
READ MORE - A 1960s Edinburgh shopping parade that was once home to Woolies is demolished
The Record reported in October how Kayleigh had been forced to go into hiding over fears for her safety after judges refused to grant the return of her documents. The country's Supreme Court has now said it won't hear her case until July next year.
In a last-ditch move to get help, desperate Kayleigh contacted the British High Commission in the capital Colombo to return home but diplomats have said they cannot compel officials to hand over her papers or personal possessions.
With her legal battle now delayed for six months, Kayleigh says she is now 'trapped in the country and faces arrest and detention if she shows her face in public.
Kayleigh said: "My human rights are being completely disregarded. I need to get out of here and they are not letting me out. I've got no money left. I've got nothing.
"The position I'm in is crazy and the British government are not helping me. Why am I completely on my own? I am stuck in this godforsaken country with no option to get out. I don't know what's going to happen to me and I don't know what else to do."
In a letter included as part of her most recent petition to Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, Kayleigh wrote: "I want my passport and valuables back into my custody and I want my freedom and safety guaranteed. I should not be forced to live in fear."
Kayleigh has pinned her hopes on a fresh bid at getting her things back after top lawyer Geoffrey Alagaratnam offered to make a fresh appeal to the courts. Alagaratnam, who once led the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, is expected to argue that denying her a hearing was a breach of her human rights.
She claims she came to the attention of Sri Lanka's authorities after sharing images of the "aragalaya" protests on her Instagram earlier this year. The civil uprising was sparked by spiralling inflation and fuel shortages and led to the collapse of the country's government.
Human rights groups say the new administration is still suppressing protest, misusing anti-terror powers to continue cracking down on dissenters. Kayleigh was interrogated by officials over her social media posts after she was first arrested in August, and claims friends sheltering her have been intimidated and even attacked by government enforcers trying to discover her whereabouts.
British diplomats are understood to have told Kayleigh that their options are limited because she arrived in Sri Lanka with with a medical visa that the government claims was acquired under false pretences. She accepts that the visa she was provided with on entering the country was a medical one, but was told not to worry about it by the agency that she gave 125,000 Sri Lankan rupees (then worth £550) to process her application.
She now believes the visa she was issued with was fake. The Record contacted the agency for comment.
READ NEXT:
Edinburgh mum finds incredible 135-year-old message in a bottle under her floorboards
Seven awful things we remember about Edinburgh buses in the 80s and 90s
Nine Edinburgh places that made for a great day out for kids in the '90s
Lost sweets Edinburgh locals would love to see return to supermarket shelves
Incredible colour footage captures Edinburgh life in the 1950s
