Oops.....The plight of refugees

In Australia the High Court has just handed down a judgment which gives refugees the right to access to the country's courts. See here for an analysis of the judgment.

Meanwhile, the plight of refugees continues. It is probably fair to say that in the main most countries see refugees - even if fleeing diabolical conditions and threats to life and limb in their own countries - as a nuisance to be got rid of.

The Guardian reports on a travesty of the first order:

"Two asylum seekers who were deported to Baghdad and claim they were tortured on arrival by Iraqi officials have been returned to Britain because they were found not to be Iraqi.

The confusion over the men's nationality and the allegations they have made are among admissions made by the Foreign Office in a letter to the European court of human rights (ECHR) arguing for a resumption of removals to Baghdad.

In October, the Strasbourg court ruled that deportations to Baghdad should be suspended because of the upsurge in violence in the Iraqi capital.

That decision, according to refugee groups, was not immediately publicised by the Home Office or made known to Iraqis who could have avoided being removed.

Amnesty International today called on European governments to halt forcible deportations to Baghdad and respect the court's decision.

It also said it was aware of "credible reports of Iraqis being detained on arrival at Baghdad airport ... beaten, deprived of food and threatened by Iraqi security officials whilst in detention after their forcible removal to Iraq".

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Mahler's Prodigal Son

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