Update | Sri Lankan police to deal with asylum seekers sent back by Australia
Asylum seekers turned back by Australia will be handed over to police in Sri Lanka, leading to protests at treatment and fears of rights abuses
A boatload of asylum seekers intercepted by the Australian navy and returned to Sri Lanka will be handed over to the island nation's police, adding to fears over Australia's hardline policy and rights abuses in Sri Lanka.
Australian border patrol officers intercepted the vessel carrying the Sri Lankan asylum seekers west of the remote Cocos Islands last week after they were suspected of entering Australian waters illegally.
The 41 on board were transferred to Sri Lankan authorities on Sunday, Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement yesterday. A Sri Lankan navy spokesman said the group would be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department.
Rights groups and some Western countries have raised concerns with Sri Lanka over alleged human rights violations during the final phase of the war against Tamil separatists that ended in 2009.
Sri Lanka says many asylum seekers are economic migrants, but rights groups say Tamils seek asylum to prevent torture, rape and other violence at the hands of the military.
Last week, the United Nations expressed "profound concern" about Australia's handling of asylum seekers when Australian media first reported that authorities had intercepted two boats carrying about 200 Sri Lankan nationals between them.
Morrison hit back yesterday, saying: "A lot of shrill and hysterical claims were made over the course of the past week. None of those has proved to be true."
