Indonesian boy release sought from Australian jail

Indonesian boy release sought from Australian jail

DARWIN, Australia (AFP); Human rights groups demanded
Wednesday the release of a 13-year-old Indonesian boy suffering
from malaria who has been held in detention for a month over a
people-smuggling racket.

"How, really, could a 13-year-old child be responsible for
people smuggling? It's unreasonable," said Amnesty International
spokeswoman Maya Catsanis.

The National Children's and Youth Law Centre said the
situation was a violation of the UN Convention of the Rights of
the Child.

Nas Kadir, who is thought to have tuberculosis, has been
imprisoned in the Dondale juvenile detention center in Darwin
since his arrest last month.

Rights groups say the government should be targeting the
ringleaders, not young boys, and accuse it of prolonging Kadir's
detention when he just wants to go home.

The youngster was arrested on the Ashmore Reef 600 kilometers
off the coast of Western Australia on July 29 as a crew member of
an Indonesian boat carrying 14 suspected illegal immigrants.
He has spent one week in hospital since his arrest.

Amnesty want Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti to get
involved because Kadir is so young.

"The Australian government has got to do the right thing in
the spirit of human rights," said Catsanis.

Kadir appeared in Darwin Magistrate's Court Tuesday over
breaches of the Immigration Act for assisting people suspected of
entering Australia illegally and wanted to plead guilty so that
he could be released.

However, lawyers for the commonwealth had his case adjourned
until Friday while they work out what penalty to apply for.
Under the commonwealth government's tough new anti-people
smuggling laws, the maximum prison sentence for an adult in his
situation is 10 years.

However, Northern Territory law would prevent Kadir from being
in custody for more than a year.

The court also has the option of discharging him without a
conviction.

National Children's and Youth Law Center director Louis
Schetzer said the commonwealth's delays violated the UN
Convention of the Rights of the Child.

"The convention provides that matters where children are
facing criminal charges be heard promptly and without delay,"
Schetzer said.

"Detention should be always regarded as the option of the last
resort. The young boy has been further detained, he is completely
lacking any form of parental or family support, he can't speak
English.

"It's clearly a situation where the human rights of this child
are being infringed upon."

The arrival in Australia of illegal immigrants by boat has
ballooned recently with racketeers peddling a myth that there are
plenty of jobs at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

More than 900 illegal immigrants have been seized from 21
boats in Australian waters since December last year.