Afghan immigrants questioned

Afghan immigrants questioned

BATAM: Eight illegal Afghan immigrants will soon leave here for Jakarta for questioning before being sent to third countries, Bambang Wahyu Suprapto of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) said.

Bambang explained that the eight were among the 70 illegal immigrants who were stranded on Batam Island several months ago.

"They will travel to Jakarta by boat for questioning before being sent to third countries," Bambang was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday after meeting with the head of the Batam immigration office Mardjono.

"We don't know yet which countries will accept them," Bambang said.

In a related development, another eight immigrants are currently being detained at the local police station for damaging facilities at the Batam immigration office quarantine center.

The vandalism took place when the immigrants protested at the sense of boredom they claimed to be experiencing in the temporary shelters, which according to them are not suitable accommodation.

"The eight immigrants will be processed in line with existing regulations," Mardjono said. -- Antara