People smuggler deportation delayed

People smuggler deportation delayed

JAKARTA: An Egyptian man accused of organizing a voyage from
Indonesia to Australia during which hundreds of asylum seekers
drowned must be investigated for immigration offenses before he
can be deported, an Indonesian official said on Wednesday.

The man, Mootaz Muhammad Hasan, alias Abu Quassey, is wanted
in Australia over the voyage in October 2001 during which 353
people, most of them Afghans and Iraqis, drowned when their
overcrowded vessel sank in the Indian Ocean.

The alleged immigration offense involved an apparent attempt
by Quassey to get an Indonesian passport, said Director General
of Immigration Iman Santoso.

"We are investigating a request for an Indonesian passport
made by Abu Quassey. If it is true then we will press charges as
he made a false statement," Santoso told reporters.

Quassey has so far served a six-month jail term for visa
violations and officials had said earlier they expected his
deportation soon, though to where was not clear.

His deportation will now be postponed while the latest
investigation is carried out, Santoso said. He gave no time
frame. --Reuters