MOSCOW, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - Australia is set to deport at least seven Afghan Hazara asylum seekers despite high risks of their persecution in Afghanistan, The Guardian reported Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, the Hazara asylum seekers have been moved to the Wickham Point Immigration Detention Center outside of Darwin prior to their deportation from Australia, the date of which is yet undisclosed.
The news about the deportation of the asylum seekers follows the reports on growing violence against the Hazaras, and specifically those coming from Australia, in Afghanistan.
On September 20, dual Australian-Afghan citizen Sayed Habib Musawi was pulled out of a bus, tortured and killed by Taliban militants. Musawi, who has lived in Australia since 2000, went to Afghanistan to visit his relatives.
Earlier that month, Zainullah Naseri, a Hazara deported from Australia in August, was captured and beaten by the Taliban but managed to escape. According to the Australian media, the Talban militants found Naseri's Australian driver's license and accused him of being a spy.
According to the Minority Group International, Persian-speaking Hazara constitute some 9 percent of the population of Afghanistan. Since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, Hazara have been given certain political rights, including Afghan citizenship. However they still face discrimination in many parts of countries in which they are ethnic minorities. Apart from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Australia and Indonesia are among the countries with the most significant Hazara populations.
