Tamil migrants are legitimate refugees: lawyer

Many of the 76 migrants seized from a ship off the B.C. coast last weekend have valid travel documents and legitimate reasons to apply for refugee status in Canada, according to a lawyer who has spoken to them.

Human rights lawyer Lee Rankin told CBC News he has met about 30 of the men who journeyed to Canada from Sri Lanka aboard the Ocean Lady, and he believes many have good reasons to seekrefugee status. He said theyshould be released from custody until they can get a proper hearing.

The men arebeing held at a Vancouver-area jail while officials attempt to identify them and determine their status.

Rankin said many of the men planned to come to Canada and broughtsupporting documents with them, including birth certificates, national identity cards and in some cases passports.

That appears to contradict Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who said earlier in the week that it appeared most did not have identification or travel documents.

Refugee claims valid: lawyer

Rankin said that as members of the losing side in Sri Lanka'scivil war, the Tamil men have a good case for refugee status.

"If you look at the information about the country involved, the human rights record is poor, the treatment of prisoners is poor extra-judicial killings, as well as very brutal treatment to people suspected of being on the losing side of the civil war," said Rankin.

He dismissed reports the men paid an Indonesian human smuggling ring as much as $45,000 for passage to Canada, saying the men he mettold himtheypaid 45,000 Sri Lankan rupees,worth about $410 Cdn at current exchange rates.

About 30 of them say they have family or friends already in Canada, and Rankin said60Tamil-Canadian families in the Vancouver and Toronto areas have volunteered to take the others.

"This is not like the situation a decade ago with the Chinese migrants who accidentally arrived in Canada and were heading off to New York, as most of these intended to come to Canada," said Rankin, referring to a wave of refugee ships that arrived on the B.C. coast in 1998.

The ship carrying the men was seized Oct. 17 after Australian intelligence officials apparently tipped off Canadian authoritiesabout its impending arrival.