Court Backs Refusal of Asylum to Wife and Kids

Australia’s High Court ruled that the government was correct to refuse asylum to the wife and five children of refugee Ali Asqar Bakhtiari, who already had been granted asylum and was living freely in Australia.

Roqia Bakhtiari and the children have been held in detention centers since they arrived by boat more than two years ago. The Bakhtiaris, who arrived separately, claim to be from Afghanistan, but the government says they are from Pakistan.

Ali Bakhtiari’s asylum status was recently revoked and he was locked up with his family; they are awaiting deportation to Pakistan. Their legal challenge had been a test case of the government’s policy on refugee families.