Last-gasp bid to halt eviction

By STUART DYE

Lawyers have launched a last-ditch bid to prevent a Sri Lankan girl being sent home to "almost certain death".

The 16-year-old fled to New Zealand two years ago with her grandmother after years of sexual abuse by male members of her family.

Her appeal for refugee status has been turned down and Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor is refusing to let her stay on humanitarian grounds.

The High Court has upheld his decision.

But the girl's lawyer, Philippa Cunningham, says she is not giving up.

She says the girl will be sent home to almost certain death and she has written to Mr O'Connor appealing for a change of heart.

It is very rare for a minister to overturn his or her decision without fresh evidence coming to light.

But a spokeswoman for the Immigration Service confirmed that the letter had been received and that Mr O'Connor was aware of it.

"This was a thorough process involving very difficult issues," the spokesman said.

"He [Mr O'Connor] considered all the information available before making his decision."

The girl is likely to remain in New Zealand for some time yet until she is pronounced fit to fly.

In a psychiatric report nine months ago, Auckland Hospital consultant psychiatrist Karl Dancing said he would not be willing to travel on the same aircraft as the girl, given the security risk she was likely to present.

Counties-Manukau District Health Board psychiatric registrar Dr Alfred Chung reported that she was a "very disturbed young lady" who spoke frequently of killing herself.