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Judge says UK unlawfully detained Tamil asylum seekers on Diego Garcia

The Guardian

|

December 17, 2024

Dozens of asylum seekers stranded on one of the most remote islands in the world in conditions described as "hell on earth" were unlawfully detained there by the UK for three years, a judge has found.

- Diane Taylor

The government could now face a bill of millions in damages for unlawfully detaining more than 60 people for such a long period.

More than 60 Tamil asylum seekers became stranded on the tropical island of Diego Garcia - halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia in the Indian Ocean - in October 2021 after their boat started leaking.

En route to Canada, where they hoped to claim asylum, they were rescued by the Royal Navy, which is part of a military presence on the UK territory. The US leases land from the UK on the island for a strategically sensitive military base.

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