Asylum pair kept in dark

The Immigration Service is still refusing to say why two young Afghan asylum seekers were held in the Mt Eden Remand Prison for six days, even though security concerns over the pair have been allayed.

A spokesman for the service, Ian Smith, said the release of information might affect their applications for refugee status.

An immigration lawyer acting for the pair, David Ryken, said the youths had never been told the grounds on which they were taken to Mt Eden and kept there.

The New Zealand Herald yesterday filed an Official Information Act request with the Immigration Service asking for the grounds of detention to be made public.