Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Australia returns asylum seekers to Sri Lanka: what happens next?

Sri Lankan officials have confirmed that the 41 returned asylum seekers have been handed over to the police criminal investigation department, and will be held for "clarification" purposes, potentially charged or released.

According to Sri Lankan law it is illegal to leave the country without departing from an official port.

A report published by the Human Rights Law Centre highlighted that asylum seekers caught attempting to leave Sri Lanka by boat are handed to the criminal investigation department and often charged with illegal migration and put before the magistrate court within a day of their return.

There have been numerous reports of mistreatment and torture inside Sri Lankan detention facilities, which Human Rights Watch described as a “widespread problem”.

A joint Human Rights Law Centre and Guardian Australia investigation revealed in March that a returned Sri Lankan asylum seeker from Australia made claims of being tortured in prison. These allegations were reported to the Australian federal police station in Colombo, who declined to interview the man, indicating an act of “wilful blindness” on the Australian authorities’ behalf. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. The life and awful death of a Tamil asylum seeker in Australia...
  2. I was tortured in Sri Lanka for harbouring Tamils...
  3. Australian silence on human rights is our gift to Sri Lanka...
  4. Australia's asylum seeker obsession puts democracy at risk...
  5. Australia, the steroid-soaked neighbourhood bully of the Pacific...
  6. Australia’s election campaign is driven by a barbarism that dares not speak its name...
  7. Australia’s treatment of refugees is 'cruel and mean-spirited’

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