TORONTO - A refugee claimant the RCMP says is a trained Sri Lankan guerrilla who shot a man in England and executed an author in Paris in front of his family has been allowed to leave a Toronto jail and return to his house in Markham.

The Immigration and Refugee Board released Pirakalathan Ratnavel on the condition he post a $20,000 deposit, live at home, abide by a curfew and stay away from associates of the Tamil Tigers.

Mr. Ratnavel, 31, was arrested in Toronto in 1997 and ordered to return to his homeland, Sri Lanka. But he caused a disturbance upon boarding the plane and the airline refused to carry him. He subsequently launched a series of appeals.

Although Canada has rejected all his claims, there have been no further attempts to deport him due to concerns he might be at risk if he were returned to Sri Lanka, which is at war with the Tigers. With no imminent plan for deportation in place, an adjudicator ordered his release on April 5.

Refugee board documents show an RCMP expert testified last month that Mr. Ratnavel is part of a 12- to 15-man Toronto unit of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan insurgent group that has killed two world leaders and hundreds of civilians in terrorist attacks.

"Mr. Ratnavel, in my opinion, is a trained member of the Tamil Tigers who has done jobs for them internationally and as such he is in the position of trust and responsibility," Sergeant Fred Bowen testified at the immigration hearing.

Mr. Ratnavel underwent military training as a teenager. He was captured by Indian peacekeeping forces in the late 1980s and subsequently expelled from the LTTE for not killing himself, Sergeant Bowen said. (Tamil Tigers wear cyanide capsules around their necks and are instructed to consume the capsules when government forces are about to capture them.)

He left Sri Lanka in 1991 and travelled to Singapore and then England, where he claimed asylum. His wife and son joined him there and a second son was born in 1994. In England, "he tried to rejoin the LTTE and did money collecting and assaults for them," Sergeant Bowen said in a sworn statement.

In 1994, Mr. Ratnavel was sent by the LTTE to Paris to help two Tigers named Shukkla and Murali murder Sabalingam Sabaratnam, "who was writing a book unfavourable to the LTTE leadership," Sergeant Bowen wrote.

Mr. Sabaratnam was an acquaintance of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE's cult-like leader, and there were fears his book would expose Mr. Prabhakaran's unsavory past. Murali arranged a meeting between Mr. Sabaratnam and two Tamil asylum-seekers who needed bogus stories for their refugee claims, he said.

"Ratnavel and Shukkla attended, assaulted and then executed Sabalingam, each shooting him in the side of the head, in front of family members," Sergeant Bowen said in a written statement.

On Jan. 30, 1996, Mr. Ratnavel was involved in a group fight in England during which Kanagasabai Soburaj was shot in the leg. Mr. Ratnavel was identified as the culprit. He claimed someone handed him a gun and that he immediately dropped it, at which point it went off.

He fled to France for three months and then flew to the United States and crossed to Canada on May 24, 1996, using a forged Dutch passport. He told immigration authorities he was only a visitor, but later filed a refugee claim, saying he had come to Canada straight from Sri Lanka, where he had been tortured.

He was arrested the following January after Citizenship and Immigration Canada determined he was a danger to the public because of his past as "an enforcer for the local Tamil community" in England. His refugee claim was rejected in July, 1997.

"While in custody at the Toronto West [detention centre], Ratnavel assaulted and threatened VVT gang members," Sergeant Bowen said. The VVT is a Tamil street gang with ties to the Tigers. Police arranged to move him to another jail as a result.

The immigration department determined in December, 1998, that Mr. Ratnavel would not be at risk if he were returned to Sri Lanka, and he was processed for deportation. But as he was being escorted to the plane he caused a disturbance at the aircraft door and the airline refused to let him fly.

The victim of the British shooting later wrote a letter saying "no one in the name of Ratnavel Piragalathan shoot me at this incident." Now that the chief witness has recanted, Mr. Ratnavel is no longer wanted for the British shooting.

Meanwhile, the rules for deciding whether deportees might be at risk in their homelands changed last summer and the immigration department determined that, under the new criteria, it was not safe to deport him. As a result, his application to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds is being reassessed.

Robert Murrant, the adjudicator, said at a hearing this month he found it "a little distasteful" someone could benefit by causing a commotion at the airport, but he freed Mr. Ratnavel anyway.

"I don't see any country to which Mr. Ratnavel can be removed," Mr. Murrant said. "And I accept that there is some concern that he may pose a danger to the public and there are concerns that he would not appear for removal based on his actions at the airport.

"However, I take some solace in Officer Bowen's testimony that he was not aware of Mr. Ratnavel ever carrying a weapon in Canada. He thinks that the risk of Mr. Ratnavel posing a danger to the public is diminished to some extent because ... Mr. Ratnavel is aware that the police are aware of him."

During court hearings, Barbara Jackman, Mr. Ratnavel's lawyer, disputed Sergeant Bowen's status as an expert witness and pressed him to explain his sources of information. Sergeant Bowen said he could not reveal his informants but said they were numerous and reliable.

Ms. Jackman said her client denies any involvement with the Tamil Tigers or committing any acts of violence.

Reached at his home, Mr. Ratnavel referred calls to his lawyer.

France is said to be investigating Mr. Ratnavel but has not yet asked for his extradition. His deportation order remains in effect and he will be returned to Sri Lanka if circumstances permit, said Giovanna Gatti, a spokesman for the immigration department.