More than 120 Indonesians who were wrongly imprisoned by Australia as adults, despite being children at the time, have reached a significant settlement in a major class action lawsuit.
The Australian government has agreed to pay over A$27m (£14m,$17m) to these victims, who were not only incarcerated but also, in some cases, prosecuted as people smugglers. Some of these individuals were as young as 12 years old when they were detained.
“It’s fair to say we’re delighted to have gotten this outcome… this has been 10 years in the making,” said Sam Tierney, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs.
Most of the plaintiffs in this class action suit were detained on Christmas Island or in Darwin between 2009 and 2012, after arriving in Australia on people-smuggling boats.
They claim that they were deceived into boarding these boats with promises of well-paid work, unaware of their actual destination or that they would be used to transport asylum seekers.
Under Australian law at the time, crew members found to be children should have been sent back to their home countries instead of facing charges.
However, authorities used a discredited wrist X-ray analysis to determine their ages and imprisoned anyone they believed to be older than 18.
Colin Singer, a prison guard who helped uncover the case, suggested in 2018 that the Australian government had “knowingly” imprisoned the children, and that the Indonesian government “didn’t want to do anything” to assist them.
Additionally, a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission revealed numerous violations of the boys’ rights and mishandling of their cases.
The lead claimant, Mr. Ali Jasmin, accused Australian officials involved in his case of negligence and racial discrimination.
The Australian government has settled several cases related to wrongful detention in recent years, including a 2017 payout of A$70 million to nearly 1,700 refugees and asylum seekers held in dangerous conditions on Manus Island and a later case involving an Iraqi asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained for over two years, resulting in a A$350,000 settlement.
It’s important to note that Thursday’s settlement, while significant, does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing and is subject to final approval by the Federal Court before the funds can be disbursed.
Source-BBC
