Abu Quassey Interviewed
22 August 2002
- 'God's will' that boat people died ~ Age
The man accused of arranging a people smuggling boat that sank last year killing 350 asylum seekers yesterday said the passengers had cheated themselves and it was God's will they died.
Australian authorities want to extradite Muttaz Attiah Mohammad Hassan, 29, who is better known as Abu Quassey, over the sinking of the vessel SIEV X off the Indonesian island of Sumatra last October.
Of the 400 people aboard the boat, 350 Iraqi and Afghan asylum seekers drowned. Yesterday, Mr Quassey described himself as a middleman who was not present when the passengers were loaded on to SIEV X.
However, two survivors from the ill-fated journey said he was present when more than 400 people were forced aboard, some at gunpoint.
"Actually the passengers, they cheated themselves," Mr Quassey told the SBS Dateline program. "Say I asked how many were going, they'd say two but there were five"...
- Dateline Transcript of Quassey interview will be up later today
- Margo Kingston will be speaking on the Children Overboard Inquiry tonight at Gleebooks.
She was on Late Night Live with Phillip Adams on Monday night speaking about the unthrown children and SIEVX. Click here to listen to the program.
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