bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Raquel Carvalho

The seven refugees who harboured American whistle-blower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong are attending their first appeal hearings on Monday, as the prospect of detention and deportation looms.
The seven – four adults from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and three stateless children born in the city ­– had their protection claims rejected in May, whereupon they all appealed.
‘Authorities want me removed from case,’ lawyer for asylum seekers who helped Snowden claims
The group became well known for having hidden the former US National Security Agency contractor Snowden in their homes for about two weeks in 2013, after he leaked a trove of classified documents revealing the extent of electronic spying by the United States and other governments.
They will attend “directions hearings” on Monday, preliminary meetings at the Torture Claims Appeal Board, before the actual hearing begins.

Like many asylum seekers in the city, the seven used to report to the Immigration Department’s branch office in Ma Tau Kok, Kowloon, every six weeks. But this month, after their protection claims were rejected, they were told their cases had been transferred to Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre in Tuen Mun, a facility for detainees awaiting repatriation or deportation. Officers told them to report there instead.
‘Help the refugees who saved me’: Snowden hits out at Hong Kong government in damning video
“We were told that was a collective decision by immigration,” their lawyer, Robert Tibbo, said. “No further explanation was offered and the officer did not deny that they could be detained then.”
“I am concerned because there is no reason to transfer them to the Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre. They will have to make three times the distance with young children and at a greater cost,” he said.

The prospect of reporting at the centre, although there is no official indication they will be detained, alarmed the claimants.
Ajith Pushpakumara, a former soldier from Sri Lanka who was detained for about five months for identity verification in 2006, was visibly shaken by the news.
“I am very upset. I cannot sleep or eat… I don’t know what to do now,” he said. “I think they will detain me … I cannot go back to Sri Lanka.”
Hong Kong rejects asylum claims by refugees who sheltered Edward Snowden
Pushpakumara said he feared for the safety of his mother and daughter back home.
There were reports early this year that Sri Lankan police had been in Hong Kong looking for the Sri Lankan refugees who sheltered Snowden, and that their relatives were under pressure back home. Authorities there denied that.

If the Torture Claims Appeal Board rejects their appeal, they can still request a judicial review with the High Court. If such attempts fail, claimants are detained and then deported to their countries of origin.
The director of the Immigration Department holds the discretionary power to order their detention at any moment.
Another of the seven, Vanessa Mae Rodel, from the Philippines, said she was “very afraid” of being separated from her five-year-old daughter. Rodel was detained in 2010 for almost two months for overstaying a visa before being able to file a protection claim.


Hong Kong does not grant asylum, but the local government is obliged to screen torture and persecution claims. Those whose claims are substantiated are referred to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement in another country.


In weaponising national security in trade against China, US breeds chaos

Nvidia denies back-door features in its H20 chips after Beijing raises security concerns

Degraded Nobel Peace Prize standards could mean Trump deserves one

US Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence

Edward Snowden

Asylum hearings begin for deportation-threatened seven who sheltered Edward Snowden in Hong Kong

The group of seven asylum seekers had their claims rejected in May. Photo: David Wong

(left to right): Refugees Vanessa Mae Rodel (back left) holds her daughter Keana (front left) and Sethmundi Kellapatha (front middle) and Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis (right) carries her son Dinath head to the press conference at the Immigration Tower in Wan Chai. The asylum seekers who sheltered Edward Snowden when Snowden was hiding in Hong Kong are facing possible deportation to their home countries after immigration authorities rejected their case.15MAY17 SCMP / David Wong

Former US intelligence contractor and whistle blower Edward Snowden is pictured during an interview with Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, in Moscow on October 21, 2015. AFP PHOTO / DAGENS NYHETER / LOTTA HARDELIN == SWEDEN OUT , NORWAY OUT , DENMARK OUT == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / DAGENS NYHETER / LOTTA HARDELIN " ==

(left to right): Lawyer Robert Tibbo; and Ajith Pushpakumara, a Sri Lankan refugee who sheltered Edward Snowden will attend a screening interview at the Immigration. Photo taken at the Skyline Tower in Kowloon Bay. 08MAY17 SCMP / Edward Wong

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Four adults and three children have been told to report to centre usually used for holding claimants until they are sent back to their country of origin


Asylum seekers in Asia