The Vancouver Immigration and Refugee Board is probing whether a Tamil migrant who arrived in Canada last summer on the MV Sun Sea may have had a role in the shooting of dozens of detained Sri Lankan army soldiers at the end of a battle.

Though the migrant testified that he didn't take part in the shooting, a key question arose about whether he may have directed subordinates to do so.

The migrant's lawyer has conceded that he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group that was engaged in a lengthy civil war with Sri Lanka until 2009. The group is considered a terrorist organization and banned in Canada.

The man in question is one of two Sun Sea migrants who have been accused of engaging in war crimes and who face possible deportation if the allegations are found to be true.

Board adjudicator Geoff Rempel described the war crimes allegation as "one of the most serious."

The migrant testified that at the end of a particular battle, there was a "call" for Tigers with AK-47 rifles to come forward.

Under questioning from his lawyer Fiona Begg, he testified that he took the call as an invitation — not an order — to take part in the killing of wounded Sri Lankan soldiers, who were being held inside a house.

(Ottawa Citizen)