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No special treatment for Behrouz Boochani, says New Zealand | No special treatment for Behrouz Boochani, says New Zealand |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Kurdish-Iranian asylum seeker arrives in Christchurch for a literary festival | |
New Zealand’s immigration service has said the Kurdish-Iranian asylum seeker and journalist Behrouz Boochani will not get special treatment if he overstays his visitor visa. | |
Boochani arrived in Christchurch on Friday to attend a literary festival after leaving Australia’s Manus Island detention centre in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday. | |
The office of the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, refused to comment on Boochani’s arrival and referred all inquiries regarding his status to Immigration New Zealand. The immigration minister, Iain Lees-Galloways, also refused to comment on the case. | |
Greg Patchell, the deputy chief executive of Immigration New Zealand, said Boochani was a recognised refugee with UNHCR status but had already been accepted for resettlement by the US and would be staying only temporarily in New Zealand. | |
“He is in New Zealand on a one-month limited visa for the specific purpose of speaking at a conference in Christchurch. He must depart before his visa expires,” Patchell said. “He is fully sponsored by Amnesty International who are responsible for meeting all his costs. | |
“If he claims asylum in New Zealand, an independent statutory process decides his claim. Government ministers have no role in this process.” | “If he claims asylum in New Zealand, an independent statutory process decides his claim. Government ministers have no role in this process.” |
Patchell said Boochani’s visitor visa had been granted only because officials were satisfied that he “genuinely intends a temporary stay in New Zealand”. | |
Boochani has yet to formally apply for asylum in New Zealand and says he wants a few days to adjust to his freedom before engaging in any formal process with the government. | |
However, he has vowed never to return to Manus Island, telling the Guardian: “I will never go back there.” | |
He said: “I want to be free just for a while. As a writer, nothing else. I don’t want to be a part of a process for a while.” | |
Boochani, who is elated but weary after a 34-hour journey across six timezones in the Asia-Pacific, thanked the people of New Zealand for welcoming him, saying it was “an honour to be here … and a reminder of kindness”. | |
For six years, New Zealand has had a standing offer to resettle 150 refugees a year from the offshore processing islands of Manus and Nauru, but Australia has consistently rebuffed the offer. | |
Under the Ardern government New Zealand has committed to increase its refugee quota from 1,000 a year to 1,500 by the middle of next year. | Under the Ardern government New Zealand has committed to increase its refugee quota from 1,000 a year to 1,500 by the middle of next year. |
Boochani arrived by boat on Christmas Island in July 2013 and was sent to Manus Island a month later. | |
While in detention, Boochani wrote a book, No Friend but the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison, which won this year’s Victorian Prize for Literature and the National Biography Award, Australia’s richest literary prize. | |
He also filmed a documentary of life in the Manus centre on a mobile phone, which has been seen in Australia, London and Berlin. | He also filmed a documentary of life in the Manus centre on a mobile phone, which has been seen in Australia, London and Berlin. |
AAP contributed to this report | AAP contributed to this report |
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