An Australian-born high court judge remains in immigration detention in Kiribati, despite an order by the country’s appeals court on Friday morning ordering his release.
David Lambourne, who works at the high court of Kiribati and is a long-time resident of the country, was arrested on Thursday after a failed attempt by the Kiribati government to deport him, against court orders.
Kiribati’s appeals court ordered Lambourne released pending a further hearing next week, but the judge stayed at a motel in the capital, Tarawa, with a police officer stationed outside the entrance. Lambourne’s passport has also been confiscated.
‘It’s a very sad day for the constitution in Kiribati’: Australian-born judge arrested – video
Speaking to The Guardian at Tarawa Airport on Thursday as officers tried to detain him, Lambourne called the actions “an illegal order to remove me in defiance of the appeal court order”.
“It is a very sad day for the constitution of Kiribati,” he said.
Lambourne told ABC TV on Friday that he believed the attempt to deport him was politically motivated; Lambourne’s wife Tessie is the Leader of the Opposition.
The ongoing separation of powers saga, which in recent months has seen the government suspend both Lambourne and New Zealand’s chief justice, Mr Justice William Hastings, erupted on Thursday morning when police came to the home of Lambourne with a removal order.
In an urgent appeal court hearing, made up of three retired judges from New Zealand, Kiribati authorities ordered no deportation.
However, immigration officials tried to forcibly place Lambourne on a Fiji Airways flight on Thursday afternoon. After a dramatic confrontation, which saw the flight captain refuse to allow authorities to board Lambourne, after which he was refused permission to take off, the judge was arrested and taken to a nearby accommodation. The plane finally took off.
The court reconvened on Friday morning to consider an urgent application for Lambourne’s release. The court ordered his release and prevented the government from making further attempts to deport him, pending further litigation.
The court condemned efforts to deport Lambourne. “Their efforts were unsuccessful, but they appear to have clearly contravened our order which we understand was shown to them by a bailiff,” the ruling said. “This behavior is unacceptable and risks holding … the people directly affected in contempt of court. It must stop.”
Dr Tess Newton Cain, senior research fellow and project manager for the Pacific Hub at Griffith University’s Asia Institute, expressed concern at the latest developments. “The fact that the government was prepared yesterday to deport David Lambourne in contravention of an appeal court order is a huge red flag when it comes to the rule of law in Kiribati,” he said.
In a statement on its Facebook page, the office of the President of Kiribati said: “The government of Kiribati abides by the laws and constitution of Kiribati and has a higher duty to protect the interests of the people of Kiribati. It is disheartening to see neo-colonial forces as weapons of laws that have been enacted to protect a Kiribati person to pursue their own interests and suppress the will of the people.”
With Lambourne and Hastings suspended, and the commission of two appellate judges expiring shortly, Kiribati is on the brink of not having a functional judiciary.
A spokesman for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the Guardian it was monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance to Lambourne.
“The wider issues between the Government of Kiribati and its judiciary are matters for the Government of Kiribati to resolve, in accordance with its constitutional and legal processes,” the spokesman said.
Australia and New Zealand are Kiribati’s main development partners, although Chinese influence in the country has been growing since Kiribati withdrew its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan in 2019.