Sri Lankan girl's lawyer sues Dalziel for $3m

An Auckland lawyer who acted for a Sri Lankan teenager is seeking up to $3 million in damages from the former Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel, TV One reported last night.

The report, citing court papers, said lawyer Carole Curtis believed Ms Dalziel defamed her over the case of the Sri Lankan girl.

Last year Ms Curtis acted for the 16-year-old and her grandmother as they tried to stay in New Zealand.

The case went to the High Court on appeal but the girl, who fled to New Zealand in 2002 with her grandmother claiming years of rape and abuse by male relatives, lost the appeal.

Ms Dalziel lost her portfolio over the controversial case when she lied about a letter leaked to TV3 that set out a strategy for keeping the teenager in New Zealand.

TV One said that court papers in Ms Dalziel's defence stated the pair arrived in New Zealand on false Italian passports in May 2002 and originally claimed refugee status because of an alleged association with a suspect in the 2001 Colombo airport bombing.

However, the grandmother later admitted to the Refugee Status Appeal Authority that she had invented an initial story of political persecution.

The papers said Ms Curtis felt comments Ms Dalziel made about her performance were defamatory.

Neither Ms Curtis nor Ms Dalziel was immediately available for comment yesterday.

- NZPA