Court overrules Australian decision to refuse refugees
An Australian federal court has overruled the Government’s decision to refuse entry to 433 Afghan refugees who were rescued from their sinking ship by a Norwegian vessel last week.
The ship intended to take the asylum seekers to Australian territory, but Prime Minister John Howard turned them away as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants arriving in Australia.
He sent a team of heavily-armed commandos to board the ship to ensure the refugees didn’t jump overboard to try to swim to Australia.
The Afghans are now on board an Australian navy vessel en route to Papua New Guinea.
Civil rights lawyers immediately challenged Howard’s decision, arguing that, because the Australian troops are holding the refugees on board a navy vessel, they are effectively in Australian jurisdiction and should be allowed to seek legal advice.
Because of this, the federal court judge ruled that the Australian Government is illegally holding the Afghans and he ordered that they be allowed to land on Australian soil.
However, Mr Howard is expected to appeal the ruling.
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