The Australian government has returned six Sri Lankans attempting to reach Australia by boat, the immigration minister has said.
On Wednesday Peter Dutton confirmed the government had returned the group after “recently intercepting a people-smuggling venture”.
Dutton said the Australian and Sri Lankan governments continued to work closely on the issue of boats trying to reach Australia.
“Our Sri Lankan partners provided advice that this vessel might be targeting Australia so we were ready and waiting to locate and detain the boat,” he said.
Boat turnbacks and the return of people seeking asylum remain controversial. Experts and human rights groups, including Amnesty International, argue they do not comply with international law.
Asylum seekers who attempt to come to Australia by boat are typically interviewed at sea by border protection officials and the interviews are then assessed by the immigration department.
In May a human rights lawyer told Guardian Australia a group forcibly returned to Sri Lanka after it reached the Cocos Islands had their claims for refugee status ignored because they were only asked cursory questions including their names, where they came from and why they came.
-theguardian
-Agencies
