Abbott gov named in submission to International Criminal Court

About bloody time. A submission has been made by a lawyer, Tracie Aylmer, to the International Criminal Court in regards to Australia's treatment of asylum seekers. The submission names senior gov ministers including Abbott himself, saying they have breached Article 7 of the Rome Convention.

Among other things, Article 7 states:

‘Deportation or forcible transfer of population’ means forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law. more

Those named in the submission, which was accepted by the ICC, are:

• Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott 
• Minister for Immigration and Border protection Scott Morrison 
• Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Michaela Cash 
• Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop 
• Former Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley 
• Commander of Operation Sovereign Borders Lieutenant General Angus Campbell - See more
  

There's this also from prominent Lawyer Julian Burnside at the Melbourne protests yesterday:

  "The way they are treating refugees in Australia is a crime, and there has already been a reference put into the international criminal court complaining of that very treatment," he said, drawing a cheer from the crowd outside the Victorian Parliament. 

"If you feel exhausted keeping up the pressure on the government, if you feel so tired you can't keep going, just support yourselves with the vision of Tony Abbott and Scott Morison in the dock at The Hague." Read more