A SRI Lankan asylum seeker deported at the weekend has been arrested and charged with people smuggling in Colombo.
Indika Mendis, 28, was among nine men flagged for forced deportation last week as the Government began returning people from Christmas Island to countries of origin against their will.
He failed to meet criteria for protection in Australia.
Yesterday, the Immigration Department confirmed the arrest and that it sought more information on its circumstances. It is alleged the man was beaten by police and was too frightened to speak.
''Whether someone has broken Sri Lankan law is something for the Sri Lankan courts to determine,'' a departmental spokesman said.
Mr Mendis was named as the skipper of a boat that sailed into Shark Bay, Western Australia, last November.
But the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's Pamela Curr said the real criminal was still at large.
theage
Indika Mendis, 28, was among nine men flagged for forced deportation last week as the Government began returning people from Christmas Island to countries of origin against their will.
He failed to meet criteria for protection in Australia.
Yesterday, the Immigration Department confirmed the arrest and that it sought more information on its circumstances. It is alleged the man was beaten by police and was too frightened to speak.
''Whether someone has broken Sri Lankan law is something for the Sri Lankan courts to determine,'' a departmental spokesman said.
Mr Mendis was named as the skipper of a boat that sailed into Shark Bay, Western Australia, last November.
But the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's Pamela Curr said the real criminal was still at large.
theage
