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Australia: 140 plane seats booked to
deport one Turkish Kurd
19.1.2006
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Sydney, Australia
(Jan 19), -The federal government paid for only five
of the 140 seats it booked on a commercial flight
from Sydney to Istanbul to deport a Turkish Kurd,
the Immigration Department said today.
The remainder were provided on goodwill.
The Immigration Department had booked the seats on a
commercial airline from Sydney to Istanbul to deport
45-year-old Ali Beyazkilinc today.
Mr Beyazkilinc was to be accompanied by three police
officers and a psychiatric nurse.
But a Federal Court judge last night ruled that Mr
Beyazkilinc was not mentally fit to be deported.
The department had previously received medical
advice that Mr Beyazkilinc suffered depression,
anxiety and probably post traumatic stress disorder.
He had also made suicide attempts.
An immigration department spokesman today said the
140 seats were booked for Mr Beyazkilinc, the three
police officers and the psychiatric nurse to provide
a buffer zone to protect him and other passengers.
"The comment that was made by the judge ... on the
arrangement put in place for Mr Beyazkilinc's
physical safety and the safety of others was
entirely proper," he said.
But he said the federal government did not pay for
the 140 seats, only the five needed for Mr
Beyazkilinc and his escorts.
"The blocking of the seats didn't cost us anything,"
he said.
"It was an offer of goodwill by the airline."
The spokesman would not say which airline the seats
were booked with.
"I would assume that flights to Istanbul are not
heavily booked at this time of year," he said.
AAP
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