29 Jun 2017

Nepalese refugees moved off Pohnpei wharf

2:37 pm on 29 June 2017

Four Nepalese refugees who'd been detained on a ramshackle boat in Pohnpei for months have been moved to a house as they wait resettlement.

Nepalese refugees in Micronesia

Photo: Supplied/ Denise Oen

The move, earlier this month, came as legal action was filed in the Supreme Court of the Federated States of Micronesia for their release.

The men were the only ones determined to be refugees among a group of asylum seekers from Nepal and India who arrived in FSM two-and-a-half years ago.

Concerns among locals about the four refugees' living conditions, led lawyer Marstella Jack to file a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the men.

She said the men were moved on the day of the hearing and are all doing fine but their movements are still restricted.

She said there were security guards at the house and the men were not allowed visitors unless the Justice Department consents in advance.

Ms Jack said the Justice Department told the court the men would be resettled within 60 days from the date of the hearing on 7 June.