<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/05/last-resort-government-faces-legal-action-to-force-repatriation-of-australians-from-syrian-refugee-camps>
"Australian mothers and children held in a Syrian detention camp will take the
Australian government to court in an attempt to compel the government to bring
them home.
Nine Australian women and 17 children – the wives, widows and children of slain
or jailed Islamic State fighters – held in the Roj camp in north-east Syria,
will file a writ of habeas corpus in the federal court on Monday morning,
arguing that Australia has “effective control” of their detention and the power
to set them free.
The group members are all Australian citizens and argue they have a legal right
to return to Australia.
Most have been held in squalid and violent detention camps more than four
years: children are suffering from untreated shrapnel wounds, malnourishment
and serious psychological illnesses. Some Australian children were born in the
camp and know no life outside it.
Save the Children Australia, acting as litigation guardian in the case, said
that legal action was “a last resort”, but it had been left with no choice but
to take the Australian government to court “formally requesting … [it] stand by
its moral and legal obligation to repatriate its citizens immediately”.
“This is a regretful but resolute action, borne of fear, suffering, frustration
and despair,” chief executive of Save the Children Australia, Mat Tinkler,
said.
Australia has already undertaken two successful repatriation missions from the
detention camps in north-east Syria. In 2019, eight orphaned children,
including a pregnant teenager, were returned to New South Wales from the camps.
And last October, four women and 13 children were brought back from Roj camp,
also to NSW, with the government offering a commitment it would repatriate the
remaining Australians when it was safe and officials were able to do so."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
