Australia: Handover of Sri Lankan asylum seekers a dangerous precedent

Sri Lankan asylum seekers on the first boat sent back by Australia queue to enter the magistrate's court in the southern port district of Galle on July 8, 2014.

 

The proposed handover of 153 asylum seekers to Sri Lanka's Navy would put Australia in blatant breach of international law and set a dangerous precedent, said Amnesty International. 

A hearing at the High Court in Melbourne on Tuesday has put the transfer in doubt, after an application was brought on behalf of the asylum seekers that were recently intercepted by the Australian Navy on their way from India.  On Sunday, Australia returned 41 aslyum seekers, that had tried to reach the country, to Sri Lanka's Navy.

Australia Handover of Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers a Dangerous Precedent by Maria Anderson