The 12 asylum seekers who fled Sri Lanka and reached the Cocos Islands on Monday were all arrested on arrival at Colombo airport after being deported by Australian authorities on Thursday night.
The group, which is believed to include children and an infant as young as one, were handed over to Sri Lanka's Criminal Investigation Department, reported Colombo Page.
The Australian government has refused to respond to concerns raised about the forced return, stating "we do not comment on operational matters".
The Guardian cited a local resident as stating the deportation was "done cloak and dagger style" with cardboard used to cover the windows of the bus.
Australia's Labor party has criticised the stealthy deportation of the asylum seekers without due process, calling on the government to provide assurance they would not face harm on arrival.
"The Government needs to provide an assurance it has not returned anyone to harm," Labor's immigration minister was quoted by SMH as saying.
"Australia has international obligations that this Government simply can't ignore. It is not good enough to try and dismiss this as an operational matter," he added.
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