Release of three Tamil migrants halted by judge

VANCOUVER- Four more Tamil migrants – three mothers and a single woman – were granted release from detention in B.C. Tuesday, however a federal judge stayed the release of the three mothers late Tuesday night after the federal government filed an appeal, one of the duty counsel representing the migrants said.

"The court has stayed their release until a more complete hearing can be argued which may be tomorrow afternoon or Thursday at the latest," Douglas Cannon wrote in an email to Postmedia News late Tuesday night.

According to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the government can seek permission from the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review of a decision made during detention hearings.

Malini Dyonisius, duty counsel representing the single woman who was released, said Tuesday night it wasn’t clear to her whether the government was attempting to block her client’s release, as well.

A pregnant woman with three children was released on Monday, the first of the 492 Tamil migrants to be released since they arrived on the B.C. coast on Aug. 13 aboard the Thai cargo ship, the MV Sun Sea.

The migrants are currently going through their third round of detention hearings. Representatives of the Canada Border Services Agency have argued for their continued detention on the grounds that their identities have not been verified.

In one case, the government has argued that the migrant poses a potential security threat because of possible links to the Tamil Tigers, which Canada has deemed a terrorist group.