Amnesty International co-ordinator Des Hogan accused...

Amnesty International co-ordinator Des Hogan accused the Australian Government of deporting an Algerian national despite an order by the United Nations Committee Against Torture to defer his deportation until his case could be assessed. Hogan claimed that an Algerian asylum seeker in Australia was likely to face torture or even death when he arrived home. A spokesman for the Australian Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock said the UN Committee's communication was not an order but a request, and the Government was under no legal obligation to obey it. The man's sister, who has been granted asylum, said the deportation was effectively a death sentence.