Deportation goes horribly wrong

Indika and Sumith, who were deported on Sunday to Colombo, have been beaten and charged with people smuggling. They are being sent to Negombo Prison which has a deplorable human rights record. The record of information below describes the circumstances of their present incarceration and the means we have of being able to confirm the abuse.

This highly publicised deportation in Sri Lanka and subsequent charges of "Sending groups to Australia Illegally" coincides with the Australian tax payer funded Saatchi and Saatchi Campaign to tell Sri Lankans not to consider seeking asylum in Australia.

Record of Events

1. On Sunday, 4 October, I was asked to ring the three Sri Lankan men in the Perth Immigration Detention Centre. They asked me to help them. They said they were afraid to go back to Sri Lanka because they had heard from the family members of the brothers, Janith, 17 years, and Tushara, who had been deported a few days earlier. They were told the brothers were not released from the airport and the families did not know where the men were held.

2. At this time (Sunday) Sumith Mendis and Prasath Indika Mendis (Indika) had left a few hours earlier. They were the second deportation but were different from the others in that Sumith refused to sign for voluntary removal and was removed in handcuffs with no shoes or shirt.

3. I rang Noeline Perera who represented the men in their immigration case. She told me she had sought an injunction in the Federal Court in Melbourne on Sunday in an effort to prevent their removal. She also had been contacted by families in Sri Lanka because the brothers had not come out of the airport.

4. On Monday Noeline Perera arranged to meet at my office at the ASRC to discuss the situation. By this time we had further information that the brothers had been released but were too scared to return home and had gone into hiding. We were also told that Sumith and Indika had not come out of the airport.

5. I rang Colombo Airport at about 3.30pm and asked to be given the phone number for CID (Criminal Investigations Department). I identified myself as Pamela Curr from Melbourne Australia. I then rang CID and identified myself again as before.

6. I asked if the two men Sumith and Indika Mendis had arrived in Colombo yet. I was told they were present in the office.

7. I asked if they were going to be released. I was told, “No. We will produce him (Indika) before the Courts. He will be charged with the crime of organising groups to send to Australia illegally”.

8. I asked if they would be bailed and was told “No. Not bailable offence.” I was told Indika was the “skipper” and the other man (Sumith) would probably be let go.

9. I asked if Indika would be sent to Negombo prison and was told yes. I asked if they had a date for a Court hearing and was told no.

10. The CID officer asked me if I wanted to speak to Indika. I said yes and the phone was passed to him. I said "Hello" and identified myself. He responded in a very subdued voice. I said I was with Noeline Perera and passed the phone to her.

11. Noeline Perera spoke in Singhalese with Indika. She gave him legal advice and then asked him if he had been beaten. He did not answer but then groaned in distress. She then that the conversation was probably being monitored so to be careful what he said and asked him again if he had been beaten. Again he paused, groaned and said yes. Then I heard the officer’s raised voice and Noeline replied that she was the solicitor, the attorney acting for the two men in Australia. The officer sounded angry. Noeline replied that the Australian woman (me) was working with her. She asked the officer if Indika had been given access to a lawyer or legal aid. She asked the officer to wait on the line and then pushed the Hold button on the phone. Noeline said, “He has been beaten. They don’t want me to speak to him,” then released the hold button and passed the phone to me. The officer was there for a few minutes as I identified myself again and then hung up.

12. Noeline said, "He asked where the woman from the embassy was. This explained to me why he had been so forthcoming with information. He had presumed I was from the Australian Embassy. At no time did I suggest this.

13. We are asking DIAC to:

(i) Halt the deportation of the other Sri Lankans booked to go on Wednesday;

(ii) Take urgent action at the highest levels to ensure the men are not physically abused, beaten or tortured;

14. Within half an hour Noeline Perera received a call in my office on her mobile from Sri Lanka informing her that the media there was reporting that “Terrorists had just been sent back to Sri Lanka from Australia."

15. I rang DIAC and gave her this information and said that it reinforced my fears that this man was being mistreated on the grounds that once a person in Sri Lanka is tainted with the accusation of terrorist, they can be beaten and tortured with impunity.

Pamela Curr
Campaign Co-ordinator
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre