News » 60 people, including Papuwa New Guinea Nepal to deport

Lawyers for rejected asylum seekers at Australia’s offshore detention centre on Manus Island will this week move to stop their imminent removal from Papua New Guinea, following reports up to 60 were slated for deportation. PNG newspaper The Post Courier on Monday reported the government had sought travel documents for 60 people whose asylum claims had been denied, with a view to deport them to their home countries within a few weeks.Separately, Ian Rintoul of the Refugee Action Coalition told Fairfax Media he had a list of about 40 asylum seekers who were targeted for removal, though he expressed doubt the PNG government would actually deport them. “At the moment I think it’s largely an attempt to get people to go voluntarily,” he said. “I doubt they’re going to try to remove such a large number in a week. They’ve been ratcheting up the tension [to] coerce them into signing to go.”Last week, five asylum seekers who were found not to be owed protection accepted a $20,000 offer to voluntarily return to Nepal, Mr Rintoul said. But about 170 rejected asylum seekers remain on Manus Island, refusing to leave. The PNG lawyer representing the asylum seekers, Ben Lomai, said he would file an urgent application this week to injunct any deportations until a separate bid to have the asylum seekers brought to Australia is heard in court.

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