Tamil Sri Lankan asylum seekers currently being held on the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago are to be allowed to transfer to the UK, following legal proceedings
The 61 people, including 16 children, have spent more than three years on the island, a British territory governed by the British Indian Island Territory Administration (BIOTA). After being rescued from a leaky fishing boat by the Royal Navy, they were taken to the US military base island and have been living since in tents in a guarded compound.
The BIOT commissioner had decided the asylum seekers could be returned to Sri Lanka. However, ten of them brought a legal challenge in the BIOT supreme court, arguing the decision-making process was flawed, and claiming unlawful detention and habeas corpus. They were granted a judicial review, which was heard in September.
Judgment had been due this week. Instead, however, government legal representatives presented a letter to the court, stating: ‘Following further consideration of the position of the BIOT migrants, our clients have discussed a proposed change in policy by which all families, children and those of the unaccompanied males who do not have criminal convictions, outstanding charges or investigations would be offered the opportunity to be transferred directly to the UK.
‘Any such transfer would be subject to entry clearance applications being submitted… Work is ongoing this morning and it is expected that a decision on offering entry to the UK in this way will be reached in the next 48 hours.’
Tom Short, solicitor at Leigh Day, which is representing some of the claimants, said: ‘Our clients fled Sri Lanka seeking refuge from persecution.
‘The treatment and unlawful detention they have endured at the hands of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administration for the past three years is disgraceful. [This] decision is an enormous relief to our clients and we urge the Home Secretary to close the camp and bring our clients here without any further delay so that they can begin their recovery.’
In October, the government announced it would relinquish sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia—handing them to Mauritius.
