Australian blunder exposes asylum seekers’ identities

The country’s immigration department accidentally posted, on its website, a database containing family information and other details on 10,000 people – a third of all asylum seekers held there.

“The breach raises serious questions about whether those identified could be placed at risk of retribution if they are returned to their countries of origin,” the Guardian reports.

The information contained full names, nationalities, location, arrival date and boat arrival information.

Every single person held in a mainland detention facility and on Christmas Island was identified in the database. A large number of children were named in the release, which also lists whether asylum seekers are part of family groups.

The asylum seekers come from countries including Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran and Syria and arrived in Australia as late as September. Some have been in detention for more than 1,000 days.

The government issued a statement saying the information was never intended to become public: “The department acknowledges that the file was vulnerable to unauthorised access. The department is investigating how this occurred to ensure that it does not happen again.”

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