Fishing boat hijacking:

Australia repatriates 14 illegal immigrants

by Manjula Fernando

Fourteen Sri Lankan asylum seekers who travelled to Australia on board a hijacked fishing trawler were deported by the Australian Immigration Department yesterday.

They were arrested by the Sri Lankan Police on arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) last afternoon and handed over to a special police team in Matara for questioning, Police spokesman, SSP Prishantha Jayakody said.

The group that included a woman and three children aged six, eight (a girl) and 10 arrived at the BIA on a special charter flight from Cocos Island.

The Australian border control apprehended the fishing trawler, ‘Chejan’ near Cocos Island, west of Australia on Thursday evening with 15 people on board. Another man is expected to be sent back later, the Australian media reported yesterday without giving reasons for the delay.

An investigating officer with the Matara police said there was a pending arrest warrant on the repatriated group. The skipper of the boat, who is suspected of masterminding the human smuggling operation, faces criminal charges.

Two fishermen who were rescued in the sea said the skipper, helped by other armed men, assaulted them severely and dumped them in the sea before fleeing with their boat. One of the men had cut wounds on his neck and belly and both spent days in hospital receiving medical treatment. They were rescued by two merchant vessels hours after their ordeal.

The three other fishermen who had gone missing after the incident were not among the deported group and are now presumed dead.

The Australian Immigration Department told the media that no one in the group claimed protection or ‘raised any issues that engaged their international obligations’. It was also reported that a 39-year-old man who recently returned from Australia on a settlement package was also among the immigrants.

The multi-day fishing trawler was seized on the night of October 14 about two nautical miles off Kudawella while it was on a fishing expedition with six fishermen including the suspect skipper.

Soon after the incident was reported, Sri Lankan authorities alerted the Australian Coastguard to be on the look out for the boat carrying criminals. The incident also led the Australian Opposition to criticise the government for its soft immigration laws.