Asylum seekers have already been tortured by Sri Lankan forces - Tamil Refugee Council
See statement here.
“There were at least 11 people on this boat who had been arrested by Sri Lanka’s intelligence forces and had been tortured,” said the spokesperson for the Tamil Refugee Council, Aran Mylvaganam.
“They fled Sri Lanka to a refugee camp in India and from there got on a boat and came to Australia. If they are handed over to the Sri Lankan authorities we are certain their lives are in danger,” he added.