People Smuggler Jailed After 90 Lives Lost

Published on Feb 2, 2014 by Luke Hunt

With friction between Australia and Indonesia continuing to test relations it must have been with some relief in Canberra and Jakarta that an Indonesian court sentenced Javaid Mahmood, a 54-year-old from Pakistan, to seven years in jail for people smuggling.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Brunei Told New Penal Code Violates Human Rights

Published on Jan 29, 2014 by Luke Hunt

Brunei’s push to introduce Sharia law and deliver the extremely wealthy Muslim sultanate into legal territory more akin with Taliban thinking has been ruled incompatible with international human rights law by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

Missing Sombath Still Dogging Laos

Published on Dec 18, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Just over a year ago, community development worker Sombath Somphone was plucked from the streets of Vientiane by police. He has not been heard of since, despite overwhelming evidence linking his disappearance to the government and its dictatorial internal security apparatus.But even the Laos government has its friends. One spin doctor went so far as to describe Sombath’s disappearance as a “piffling affair,” which somehow seemed like not so much of a big deal when compared with the extraordinary renditions of the United States.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..

People Smugglers: Doing it Tough

Published on Dec 17, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Afghanistan and the long road out — This article first appeared in The Edge ReviewBy LUKE HUNT / KabulPeople smugglers are feeling the pinch. Escalating costs, government crackdowns and a less than compliant cargo is making life difficult for the likes of Abu Saleh, Captain Bram, Abu Visam and Sayed Abbas – perhaps Asia’s most notorious illegal importers of human beings.All four have plied their trade from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka through the Middle East to Europe or via Southeast Asia and into Australia, making small fortunes out of illegal immigrants, political asylum seekers, economic refugees and ordinary people desperate for a peaceful life.Much of that business begins here around the jewelry shops of Chicken Street in Kabul,....

People Smugglers Feel the Pinch

Published on Dec 11, 2013 by Luke Hunt

Despite the spat between Indonesia and Australia over spying allegations and accusations that Jakarta could do more to halt illegal immigration flows, a recent crackdown on people smuggling initiated by the recently elected conservative government in Australia has already had a dramatic impact.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..