High Court Issues Temporary Injunction Preventing Transfer Of Asylum Seekers To Sri Lanka
Tuesday 8 July 2014 @ 9.55 a.m. | Immigration
Justice Crennan of the High Court issued a temporary injunction yesterday to stop the Australian government transferring 153 asylum seekers, currently on a boat, to the Sri Lankan navy. The injunction lasts until the resumption of a hearing 4 pm today (Tuesday the 8th). The injunction follows Scott Morrison’s announcement on Monday that 41 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on a different boat had been handed over to the Sri Lankan navy following a “screening process” that took place on an Australian customs vessel.
Lawyer George Newhouse told Guardian Australia he was representing 48 of the people currently onboard the ship. He said his clients held:
““grave concern[s]” they would be handed over to the Sri Lankan military without having their claims of “death, torture, or substantial harm” at the hands of Sri Lankan authorities fairly heard.”
Newhouse told The Conversation that they had argued that the asylum seekers “were being imprisoned by the Commonwealth without proper cause”. When the case is heard this afternoon, he said they would argue that “their legal claims for protection had not been dealt with in accordance with Australian law.”
According to The Conversation, it is believed all 153 passengers on board the second ship were Tamils. Guardian Australia has reported that there are suspected to be 37 children on board, one of whom is said to be 10 months old.
The first boat included 37 Sinhalese and four Tamil nationals. One of the people on the board reportedly had a case for asylum but voluntarily asked to be transferred. It is illegal under Sri Lankan law to "depart the country in an unauthorised way from an unauthorised port", meaning the returning asylum seekers may face criminal convictions. The Australian reported concerns about the navy’s “notorious” Criminal Investigation Department, saying:
“The CID is responsible for investigating serious crimes but has been accused of human rights abuses, including the rape and torture of suspected Tamil Tiger sympathisers and returned asylum-seekers, on the 4th floor of its Colombo headquarters. Alleged abuses have been well documented in recent years, including in the 2013 Human Rights Watch report “We will teach you a lesson”.”
The UNHCR has released a strong statement about the recent events:
“UNHCR is deeply concerned by Australia’s announcement that it has returned some 41 asylum-seekers to Sri Lanka after having intercepted them at sea, as well as the fate of a further 153 asylum-seekers of Sri Lankan origin who are now subject to an Australian high court injunction on their return.
Without further information UNHCR is not in a position, at this time, to confirm whether they were in accordance with international law. UNHCR has previously made known its concerns to Australia about its enhanced screening procedures and their non-compliance with international law.
UNHCR’s experience over the years with shipboard processing has generally not been positive. Such an environment would rarely afford an appropriate venue for a fair procedure.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has reiterated his belief that the asylum seekers are being treated within legal bounds, telling the Sydney Morning Herald “what we do is consistent with our legal obligations and safety at sea.”
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