Sri Lankan asylum seekers to be taken to Australia
July 25, 2014 04:59 pm
A group of Sri Lankan asylum seekers that has been languishing on board an Australian customs vessel for weeks will temporarily be brought to Australia’s mainland and may be sent to India, Australia’s government said Friday, following a court challenge and outrage from human rights groups.
Two boats of Sri Lankans were intercepted by Australia’s border patrol in the Indian Ocean in late June.
Australia handed over the passengers from the first boat to the Sri Lankan government after their refugee claims were assessed at sea and rejected, sparking protests in Australia by human rights advocates who said the migrants could face persecution back home.
Some of the 157 asylum seekers on board the second boat, which departed from India, launched a legal challenge in the High Court to prevent their return to Sri Lanka. -ABC news reports
