An Australian high court judge in Kiribati has raised concerns about the rule of law in the Pacific island nation after his attempted deportation.
Kiribati’s attorney-general attempted to deport David Lambourne, with the government claiming he breached his visa conditions and posed a security threat.
A last-minute injunction was granted by the appeals court, with the attorney-general told to take necessary steps to stop the judge’s deportation but Mr Lambourne remains in immigration detention in a motel.
“The only thing that thwarted their attempts to remove me was that the captain of the Fiji Airways plane refused to uplift me on the basis that the deportation order was not lawful,” he told the ABC on Friday.
“It was clear to me I wasn’t permitted to leave the airport and they were keen to ensure I left on that flight.
“Their attempt to deport me was not lawful.”
Despite the appeals court ordering his release on Friday morning, the government continues to hold him in immigration detention, he says.
Mr Lambourne says the government is trying to leverage him to put pressure on his wife, the Pacific nation’s opposition leader, to quit politics.
“She’s clearly a thorn in their side and as far as I can tell, all attempts to remove me are really an underhand means of trying to attack her,” he said.
“They think if I am forced out of the country, my wife will have to quit politics and follow me.
“They obviously don’t know her very well if they think that’s what she would do.”
The actions constituted a breakdown of the rule of law, Mr Lambourne added.
“We have a government that has demonstrated a clear willingness to blatantly refuse to comply with orders of the court,” he said.
“The rule of law here has broken down completely. It’s a terribly sad situation for all of the people of Kiribati.
“Once you have an authoritarian government that demonstrates its willingness to completely ignore orders of the court, then everybody is fair game.”
The removal of the high court’s chief justice means serious criminal matters are not being heard, Mr Lambourne says.
“The real problem is that I’ve been suspended, the chief justice has been suspended, and so there is essentially very little work happening in the high court,” he said.
“We are the only two judges of that court and it means that the people who have their cases, whether they are matters of serious criminal offending or civil matters, they’re not being heard.
“There is nowhere where those serious criminal trials are being heard and if anybody wanted to challenge the actions of the government, there is nowhere they can do that.”
The Australian government has been in touch to offer consular assistance, but the judge is apprehensive about pushing his case, saying there’s a limit to what a public statement could accomplish.
“The government may be reluctant to risk some of their diplomatic capital on a case such as mine,” Mr Lambourne said.
“I would certainly hope they are making representations through the usual diplomatic channels.
“But there’s probably limited value in the Australian government trying to shout at Kiribati about their treatment of me.”
