Aus HC bars handing over of Sri Lankan asylum-seekers

The Australian High Court today barred the government from returning 153 Sri Lankan asylum- seekers, including 48 Tamils, amid a growing concern over the country's immigration policies a day after Canberra handed over 41 migrants in a controversial mid-sea transfer.
The injunction, which remain in effect until hearing resumes tomorrow, came about the same time when the Sri Lankan police told reporters that the 41 migrants -- including four minority Tamils who attempted to enter Australia illegally -- returned last night would face charges.
Leaving the country illegally is a criminal offence punishable with up to two years in jail in Sri Lanka.

Human rights lawyer George Newhouse, acting for 48 Tamils on board, said those on the boat were sure to be charged when they returned.
"People die in Sri Lankan jails and people are tortured in Sri Lankan jails and I would have thought an Australian minister would have thought long and hard about sending people to a place where they could die," he was quoted by the Herald Sun as saying.
The Tamil asylum-seekers claim that they flee the country to avoid persecution, torture and harm by the authorities.

Yesterday, Australia returned the 41 Sri Lankans who attempted to enter Australia illegally by a boat last month following a week of secrecy.

Their boat was intercepted by BPC West of Cocos (Keeling) Islands late last month and at no stage was the vessel in distress as all persons aboard the SIEV were safe and accounted for, Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said.
"Forty one potential illegal maritime arrivals who were intercepted on the SIEV were returned to Sri Lankan authorities yesterday. They were transferred at sea, in mild sea conditions from a vessel assigned to Border Protection Command to Sri Lankan authorities, just outside the Port of Batticaloa," the minister said in a statement.
All people intercepted and returned were subjected to an enhanced screening process to ensure compliance by Australia of international obligations, he said.

This process includes identifying any person who may need to be referred to a further determination process. In such cases, the government's policy is to transfer such persons to either Papua New Guinea or Nauru for offshore processing.