The trial of alleged SIEV X people smuggler Khaleed Daoed is scheduled to commence in the Brisbane Supreme Court on May 17 and will run for at least three weeks. The boat dubbed the SIEV X sank in international waters off Indonesia on October 19, 2001, drowning 353 asylum seekers. Only 44 survived.
The people smuggler who organised the SIEV X voyage, Abu Quassey, is currently serving a 5.25 year sentence in Egypt.
Daoed's alleged role as Quassey's bookkeeper and fares negotiator was reported by several survivors of the tragedy. In the absence of a full-powers judicial inquiry, this is the last chance to get new information onto the public record concerning SIEV X.
Supporters of SIEV X survivors in Western Australia have started a fundraising campaign to ensure that a number of men living in Perth who lost their wives and children in the SIEV X tragedy can get to the trial. "It may offer some sense of justice being done, although this trial falls far short of the inquiry many would like to see in relation to SIEV X", Sue Hoffman from the WA Refugee Alliance told Green Left Weekly. During the trial they may also learn more about the last days and hours of their loved ones.
Donations can made to Family of SIEV X, Commonwealth Bank, Morley WA branch, BSB 066132, Account Number 10435629. Send an email to <wara@optusnet.com.au>. Contact Sue Hoffman on 0401 238 567.
Sarah Stephen
From Green Left Weekly, May 11, 2005.
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