Australia to pay $17 million in compensation to Indonesian children held in adult jails

The Australian government has agreed to pay more than 120 Indonesians who say that Canberra wrongly detained or prosecuted some of them as adult people smugglers while they were still children settling a major class action suit. Canberra has agreed to pay more than A$27 million (US$17 million) to the victims.

Settlement offer

The class action brought by the Indonesians – some of whom were as young as 12 – at the time was recently settled after the Australian officials were said to have used a deeply flawed wrist X-ray technique to determine their age and locked them up in adult prisons and prosecuted in adult courts.

“It’s fair to say we’re delighted to have gotten this outcome...this has been 10 years in the making,” said Sam Tierney, one of the lawyers for the plaintiffs, as quoted by the BBC.

According to reports, most applicants involved in the class action suit were detained between 2009 and 2012 after arriving in Australia on people-smuggling boats during a highly charged political climate around border protection.

The case began with over 120 class action members but has reportedly grown in the two years since proceedings began. It was not until Thursday (Oct 5) that the parties reached an agreement to settle for $17 million, plus the legal fees.

Notably, the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing and is pending final approval by the federal court before it can be paid out.

What do we know about the case?

The Indonesians had told Australian authorities at the time that they were lured onto the boats as children with offers of highly paid work, often unaware of their destination or that they were to transport asylum seekers.

Furthermore, the Indonesians who brought the class action suit also said that they told authorities they were children but the Australian federal police relied on a wrist X-ray technique to convince courts they were adults which led to their detainment and prosecution as adult people smugglers.

Australian law mandated that any children found on these boats should be returned to their home countries. Colin Singer, a prison guard, told BBC back in 2018, that he believed the Australian government had “knowingly” imprisoned the children, and that the Indonesian government “didn’t want to do anything” to help them.

The lead plaintiff, Ali Jasmin, also accused Australian officials of negligence and racial discrimination. He also claims to have been assaulted in Hakea prison in 2010 where he was held on remand.

What happens now?

According to reports, the federal court will now give a chance for others to object to the settlement before a subsequent hearing in December.

After which the lawyers for the plaintiffs will spend the next one year looking for any additional Indonesians who may be eligible for compensation, reported the Guardian.

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