uk returns 36 asylum seekers to sri-lanka

The plane touched down despite frantic legal efforts to force it to turn back to the United Kingdom.

A judge from the Queen's Bench division of the high court deliberated for more than six hours on an application for a mandatory order to force the aircraft to turn around. The judge reportedly described it as "a momentous decision" but in the end refused the application. The judge said the matter should be referred to the court of appeal.

Earlier, another high court judge, Mr Justice Eady, had granted a stay of removal on the basis that he deemed the safety of the individual in question could not be guaranteed. Two leading human rights groups, Human Rights Watch and Freedom from Torture, have called on the British government to call an immediate halt to further removals to Sri Lanka and undertake a serious policy review.

Mr Justice Eady cited as his reason for over-ruling the removal order a Human Rights Watch Report documenting the torture of recent returnees. Lawyers believe this judgement may have wider application – hence legal efforts to have the plane turned back. 

 About 40 failed asylum-seekers - most of whom are thought to be Tamils - were granted dramatic last-minute stays.

Immigration lawyers ascribe the judges' apparent change of heart to serious concerns over Sri Lanka's dismal human rights record and the risk that those forcibly returned face arbitrary arrest and torture. The judgements affected around half of the estimated 70 to 80 Tamils due to have been sent back to Sri Lanka on flight PVT030 from Stansted.

Two senior barristers with the London-based Renaissance Chambers, which specialises in human rights and immigration law, say the judgements are very unusual. Nishan Paramjorthy and Shivani Jegarajah say they represent a judicial shot across the bows of the British government.

"Judicial attitudes have changed," said Mr Paramjorthy. "Previously hard-line judges are granting stays, mostly on grounds of risk upon return."
Channel 4 News has obtained a copy of one judgement, by the Honourable Mr Justice Eady, which cites as the reason for his granting a stay of removal: "The recent Human Rights Watch report, dated 29.05.2012 suggests that there may be new evidence relevant to the risk of ill treatment."

We are unable to publish the document because the proceedings are ongoing and live.

The High Court judge orders "that the secretary of state be restrained from removing the applicant from this jurisdiction." Today's flight was the fifth British government charter flight to Sri Lanka since June last year. The flights are shrouded in secrecy and the UK Border Agency has a policy of not commenting on them.

 

Last month, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published a report on human rights in Sri Lanka which detailed attacks and intimidation of journalists and human rights workers there, disappearances, abductions and allegations of widespread torture. It also cited a report from a panel of experts commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General which found credible allegations of war crimes in Sri Lanka.

Keith Best, CEO of Freedom from Torture, told Channel 4 News: "The government insists that anyone who is removed is individually assessed to make sure that they are not at risk of ill treatment, but there are now mounting cases of torture following forcible return to Sri Lanka. Clearly, the UK Border Agency failed to prevent these individuals being returned to serious harm.

"They should announce an immediate halt to removals to Sri Lanka and undertake a serious review of their policy," he said.

David Mepham, UK director of Human Rights Watch said: "We, together with other groups, will be seeking an early meeting with government officials on this issue to press for a major review of UK policy towards Sri Lanka."

The timing of this controversy and the spotlight it places on Sri Lanka's dismal human rights record will be embarrassing for the Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapakse, who arrives in London on Sunday to attend the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Karim Assaad, a London-based human rights lawyer who has had many Sri Lankan Tamil clients, described the decision to invite President Rajapakse as "distasteful".

"The last time President Rajapakse visited the UK, there were attempts by Tamil community lawyers to initiate proceedings against him as a war criminal," Mr Assaad said.

 

36 asylum seekers deported to Sri Lanka

A group of 36 asylum seekers have arrived in Colombo after being deported from Britain on Thursday.

The group, which includes 22 Tamils, were amongst those who did not receive a last-minute reprieve after a British judge ruled there was evidence “ill treatment” could occur following the release of a Human Rights Watch report earlier this week.

The chartered flight was originally scheduled to remove an estimated 80 people to Sri Lanka,  before around 40 Tamils had their deportation halted in a widely welcomed move.

more details http://www.lankasri.com/ta/link-3m4340SdWgb6eEIcQ372.html

Turkey earthquake: Deaths rise to 523

The number of people known to have been killed in Sunday's earthquake in Turkey's south-east has risen to 523.

Officials say 1,650 people were injured in the 7.2-magnitude quake which had its epicentre in Van province - 185 people have been rescued alive.

Rain and snow are hindering the rescue effort and worsening conditions for the thousands of people made homeless.

Tents and other aid supplies are being delivered after some initial criticism that the response was too slow.

Hundreds of people are still missing under collapsed buildings.

Rescuers in some places are continuing to search for those buried in the rubble, but at other sites they have stopped work and attention is turning to the needs of the survivors.

People in the hardest-hit town, Ercis, have formed long queues to try to get hold of tents but many have been told there are none left.
"Everyone is getting sick and wet," said Fetih Zengin, a 38-year-old whose house was badly damaged.

"We have been waiting in line for four days and still nothing."

"We slept under a piece of plastic erected on some wooden boards we found. We have 10 children in our family," he told the Reuters news agency.
Another survivor, Zeki Yatkin, lost his father in the quake.
"They say we will get prefabricated houses in one-and-a-half months," he said, in an interview with Reuters.

"We can't tolerate the cold, but what else can we do?"Gripped by fear
Some survivors have accused Turkey's governing AK party of handing out aid preferentially to the families of public servants and policemen, ignoring ordinary people.

The governor of Van province, Munir Karaloglu, has denied this.
He says 20,000 tents have already been distributed and he blamed fear for exacerbating the problems.

"Because of the psychology and the aftershocks, they don't use their undamaged house and ask for a tent" he said.
"This is why we have a problem."

South-eastern Turkey was hit by another strong aftershock on Thursday of magnitude 5.2, but there are no reports of any further casualties.

Seismologists say the epicentre was located near the border between Turkey and Iraq, south of Van province.

The Turkish government had initially said it did not need any help from abroad, but later changed its mind.

Ankara accepted an offer of clothes, blankets and other supplies from Israel, despite the recent deterioration in their relationship.

Reports say prefabricated homes from Israel are currently on their way to Van province.

"Three more planes loaded with aid supplies will come to Turkey within two days," an official from the Israeli embassy in Ankara told the Anatolia news agency.
Aid from several other countries is starting to arrive in Turkey too.

The United Nations says it is sending thousands of tents as well as blankets and mattresses.

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Apple launches iTunes Match service in the UK

The cloud system allows users to pay a fee and have their music libraries scanned by Apple, who then replace songs with higher quality versions which can be accessed from other Apple devices such as iPods. The service, which will seemingly allow Apple to make a profit from illegal downloads, was launched in the US in November but was only made available in the UK yesterday (December 15). Users must pay £21.99 per year to use iTunes Match, but in return will be able to replace any illicit downloads or songs ripped from CDs with better quality tracks. Figures within the music industry have welcome the launch, with Universal Music UK director of digital music Paul Smernicki telling the BBC:

Explaining why Apple had been able to launch the service and gain permission from record labels so quickly, meanwhile, independent digital analyst Mark Mulligan said: "The reason why this can happen is because Apple essentially owns the music industry’s most valuable customers – the ones spending the lion’s share in the digital marketplace."The major record labels are more willing to do things in Apple’s ecosystem than they would elsewhere."In November this year, The Who's Peter Townshend described Apple as a "digital vampire". The guitarist claimed that the technology giant was "destroying copyright as we know it" and was damaging the growth of new music.

Three children pulled from river

Three children pulled from river after boating accident Three children were dramatically rescued from a fast flowing river last night after a family boating accident. The trio were in the small fibreglass craft with a man, thought to be their father, when it capsized near to a weir. Two of the children – aged six and ten – were plucked from the water by a local living near the scene shortly after the boat overturned. Around three and half hours later, after a major search, involving police divers and rescue teams in small boats trawling the floodlit river, the third child, believed to be aged only three, was found alive. The father was recovered from the water shortly afterwards. There was no immediate news on his condition. Last night, two of the children were being treated in hospital. At least one of them was in a serious condition. The accident happened on the River Avon in the picturesque village of Barford, near Warwick. Locals said that the river had been busy with families enjoying the weekend’s mild temperatures, but suggested recent rain may have swelled the it and made the currents unusually fast for the time of year. The family is thought to have fallen into the water after their boat, with an outboard motor, went down the weir. The emergency services were called to the scene at about 5.30pm. Two of the children, thought to be a boy and a girl, had been recovered by the time they arrived. One had suffered a cardiac arrest and received CPR treatment at the scene. Rescue crews also launched a major operations, involving boats searching the river and crews scouring the river banks. The road through the village was closed as emergency services concentrated their efforts around a river bridge in the centre. A fire engine shone a bright light onto the river below to assist rescuers. One local said she believed the young family had recently moved to the village. She said: “If it’s who I think it is it’s an absolute tragedy, they only moved here recently and they seemed lovely. “It’s very sad and not something you expect to happen around here. “There has been a lot of rain recently and I suspect the currents were stronger than they appeared. “At least it might act as a warning to other families to be very careful on the river.” Another resident added: “Everybody’s quite devastated really by what’s happened, the village is pulling together. “Everybody’s doing everything they can, it’s amazing to see the emergency services so determined to find these people who are missing. “It’s my understanding that it’s a family who had the accident today. There is a weir, quite a nasty weir, the river level is very high at the moment, the current is very fast, I think they just got to the weir, and the boat went straight over it, and there’s nothing they could have done to stop that happening.” Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jim Onions from Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This has been a terrible incident in Warwickshire this evening. "Warwickshire Fire & Rescue crews have been working in very hazardous white water conditions in the weir in Barford to rescue two casualties. Firefighters have been working from boats and wading in the water to locate the casualties. "We have been working alongside our colleagues at the Police and Ambulance in a joint approach to this incident together with other agencies with boats in a combined effort to deal with what has been a very difficult protracted rescue this evening. Operations will continue through the night”.

Two men killed in road accidents in Armagh

A 21-year-old man has died in a road accident in Armagh. It happened on the Keady Road at about 02:20 BST on Saturday. It is believed he was a passenger in the car. No other vehicle was involved. Meanwhile, the name has been released of a motorcyclist killed in a road accident in Lisburn. He was 23-year-old Neil Graham from the Dromore area. His motorcycle was in collision with a car at Woodland Park at about 18:30 BST on Friday. A 17-year-old girl who was driving the car and an 11-year-old boy, who was a passenger, were treated for minor injuries and shock.