Submitted by CRIN on
[7 July 2014] -
The Abbott government’s boat turnback policy has been dealt a blow as an interim High Court injunction prevents the return of 153 asylum seekers to Sri Lankan authorities over concerns about their safety.
Amid reports that 41 Tamils from another boat of asylum seekers were facing criminal charges following their handover to Sri Lankan police, lawyer George Newhouse says the 153 asylum seekers are "entitled to have their claims for protection processed in accordance with Australian law".
"The (immigration) minister cannot simply intercept their vessel in the middle of the night and ‘disappear’ them,’’ Mr Newhouse told AAP on Monday night.
A late sitting of the High Court in Sydney on Monday barred the return of the 153 asylum seekers, 48 of whom are Tamil, until 4pm Tuesday or further order of the court.
Their case will be heard at the High Court in Melbourne about 2pm on Tuesday.
"The asylum seekers claim that they are fleeing persecution and that they’re at risk of death, torture or significant harm at the hands of Sri Lankan authorities,’’ Mr Newhouse said.
"(There’s) a need for ongoing protection."
Forty-one Sri Lankan asylum seekers from a second boat already returned by the Australian authorities reportedly face jail despite assurances from the Abbott government they were in no danger of persecution.
But Mr Newhouse argues there are serious concerns for the safety of the asylum seekers if they are handed over, and is worried they will also be charged and potentially jailed.
‘‘In Sri Lankan jails, detainees are often subjected to torture and sometimes they never reappear,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re talking about a boat load of women and children, and I would have thought that the minister needs to think very clearly before he sends them into Sri Lankan jail.’’
The group already handed over will face court in the port of Galle at an unspecified date, charged under the Immigrants and Emigrants Act, a Sri Lankan police spokesman reportedly said.
The asylum seekers were transferred in mild sea conditions off the coast of Sri Lanka after the boat was stopped west of the Cocos Islands in late June.
"The sentence for those who are proved to have left illegally is two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine," the spokesman said, according to Reuters.
The Australian government says none of the Tamils, who were screened via video link, are in danger of persecution.
‘‘All were screened in terms of any potential protection obligation and none were found to be owed that protection,’’ Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday.
Refugee lawyer David Manne said it was difficult to track the fate of returned asylum seekers.
"This is part of the problem that we’ve seen in Sri Lanka, with people being essentially summarily expelled there without proper due process," he told ABC TV.
Further comment has been sought from Mr Morrison’s office.