The Papua New Guinean (PNG) Supreme Court yesterday dismissed an application to send asylum seekers held on an isolated island to Australia on a paperwork technicality.
A ruling in favor of the 302 detainees would have ordered the governments in Port Moresby and Canberra to transfer them to Australia within 30 days, a political nightmare for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Under Australia’s tough immigration laws, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the nation by boat are sent for processing on Papua New Guinea’s Manus island and Nauru.
Lawyer Ben Lomai confirmed the case had been dismissed and that the detainees planned to refile the application.
The case was dismissed because the court filings were signed by the principal lawyer, Lomai, instead of the direct claimants, said Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul, who was present at the hearing.
“The reality is the refugees are facing longer in detention and that’s extremely disappointing,” Rintoul said. “The legal issues have not been resolved and it does not change the fact that these men are detained illegally.”
The group plans to travel to Manus next week to collect the signatures, but getting another hearing at the Supreme Court might be difficult, Rintoul said.
“We [have] lost trust in any court or lawyer or justice,” said Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian who has been at the Manus detention center for more than three years.
Many of the asylum seekers have spent three years at the center, which the Papua New Guinean Supreme Court ruled in April was unconstitutional and must close.
A ruling in favor of the 302 detainees would have set a precedent for all 823 detainees, asylum seekers predominately from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The UN and human rights groups have condemned Australia’s immigration policy, citing human rights abuses in the centers.
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