Family of four put on a plane in Melbourne, headed for Sri Lanka, but removed in Darwin after court grants temporary reprieve
A judge has granted a last-minute temporary injunction to stop a Tamil asylum seeker family being deported from Australia.
The family of four left Melbourne airport for Sri Lanka on a non-commercial flight about 11pm on Thursday.
But the plane landed in Darwin early on Friday and Priya, her husband, Nadesalingam, and their two Australian-born daughters were taken to accommodation, according to a family friend who was in contact with them by phone.
“They’re pretty traumatised, as you can imagine, but also very relieved to be still here,” said the former Biloela resident, Simone Cameron.
Priya’s arm had been injured after she was forcibly taken on to the plane in Melbourne, Cameron said.
A photo of Priya obtained by Australian Associated Press showed her wrist had been bandaged.The family of four left Melbourne airport for Sri Lanka on a non-commercial flight about 11pm on Thursday.
But the plane landed in Darwin early on Friday and Priya, her husband, Nadesalingam, and their two Australian-born daughters were taken to accommodation, according to a family friend who was in contact with them by phone.
“They’re pretty traumatised, as you can imagine, but also very relieved to be still here,” said the former Biloela resident, Simone Cameron.
Priya’s arm had been injured after she was forcibly taken on to the plane in Melbourne, Cameron said.
The plane landed in Darwin just before 3am on Friday. Video footage posted on Twitter by a supporter appeared to show the family being escorted from the plane and leaving in a white van.
Lawyers secured an interim injunction in the federal circuit court in Melbourne on Thursday blocking the family’s removal.
The orders made by Judge Heather Riley prevent the family being removed until noon on Friday. The order states that an application be listed for hearing at 10am on Friday in the Melbourne registry of the federal circuit court.
The Department of Home Affairs has been contacted for comment.
Priya and Nadesalingam came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 after Sri Lanka’s civil war. The family has been held in a Melbourne detention centre since March 2018, after being taken from their home in Biloela, Queensland, during a pre-dawn raid.
They had lived in the town for four years on a temporary bridging visa. The high court denied their final bid to stay in May 2019.
Last week the family found out their efforts to stay in the country had been rejected but supporters called on the immigration minister to reconsider.
Priya was understood to have been separated from her family about 7.30pm on Thursday before being reunited at Melbourne airport ahead of the planned flight back to Sri Lanka, according to a family friend, Angela Fredericks.
“My understanding is they got served papers this evening and then separated,” Fredericks said on Thursday.
About 50 supporters of the family rushed to the airport but were unable to prevent the plane leaving with the family.
Supporters have previously said they feared the family would be in danger if sent back to Sri Lanka.
The family have received strong support from Australians, with more than 200,000 people signing a Change.org online petition to prevent them from being sent back.
The immigration department had previously stated that the family’s case had been assessed over many years.
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