Vancouver: A Canadian court has ordered release of a Sri Lankan Tamil who was among 76 migrants detained for illegally sailing into country's waters off the Pacific coast a week ago, local media reported.
The decision came after a custody hearing on Wednesday, lawyer Narinder Kang told the Globe and Mail newspaper.
The released man, however, was ordered to report regularly to border authorities, Kang told the daily yesterday.
Federal police detained the 76 men, all male adults, who intend to make refugee claims on Friday, after the Canadian Navy seized the mysterious cargo ship off Canada's West Coast.
The move came after it emerged a 26-year-old man, whose identity was withheld due to a court order, was being sought by Sri Lankan authorities through Interpol for an unspecified terror offence.
All the other detainees have been kept in custody as their identity was yet to be verified by the border officials, it said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, October 25, 2009, 09:13