Bridie Jabour and Katharine Murphy – The Australian navy has been accused of burning asylum seekers during a towback to Indonesia.
The asylum seekers claimed they were forced to hold on to hot pipes coming out of an engine when they were transferred on to another boat and taken back to Indonesia on 6 January. They also told ABC News they had been beaten.
Indonesian police backed up the claims, telling the ABC 10 asylum seekers had to be treated by medical officers on shore and seven of the people were assessed for burns. The broadcaster has also obtained a video of what appears to be asylum seekers receiving medical assessments for burns.
The immigration minister, Scott Morrison, has flatly denied the claims, saying the Australian navy and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service had rejected any suggestion they behaved inappropriately when dealing with asylum seekers.
"Smugglers and their clients have strong motivations for seeking to discredit the activities of Australia's border protection operations in an attempt to undermine public support for the government's strong border policies," he said.
The allegations have come as Customs and Defence issued terms of reference for an inquiry examining how Australian vessels strayed into Indonesian waters. In a statement issued about 10pm on Tuesday, Customs and Defence confirmed an investigation covering the period between 1 December 2013 and 20 January 2014.
The Abbott government has confirmed that Australian vessels made several inadvertent incursions into Indonesian waters. The embarrassing admission followed earlier declarations that Australia would not under any circumstances violate Indonesian sovereign territory as part of any efforts to return asylum boats.
The statement outlining the scope of the inquiry issued by Customs and Defence acknowledged "the seriousness of this matter and the urgency required as a consequence of the importance of our relationship with Indonesia".
"The joint review will focus on the circumstances leading to the entry of Australian vessels into Indonesian waters," it said. "Specifically, the review will assess the sequence of events and cause of Australian vessels entering into Indonesian waters in connection with Operation Sovereign Borders."
The joint review would "identify any potential procedural weaknesses or deficiencies in maritime operations and make recommendations to ensure that any immediate operational policy or procedure issues are highlighted and rectified promptly," the statement said.
The terms of reference suggest the inquiry will have both classified and unclassified sections. The report is due on 10 February but it is not clear whether the investigation will be released publicly.