An Afghan-born man is being prosecuted in Indonesia for allegedly trying to get his family relatives to Australia by boat.
Ali Qaseem, 57, was born in Afghanistan but is now an Australian citizen after arriving there in 1999 seeking protection, according to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report.
Indonesian prosecutors are asking for him to be jailed for 11 years and fined $50,000 for allegedly trying to get his family members and other asylum seekers from Indonesia to Australia by boat, the ABC reported.
He has denied any involvement in people smuggling saying that he was in Indonesia to find relatives who had disappeared.
However, prosecutors say Qaseem and another man were caught transporting people to the Indonesian coast who wanted to seek asylum in Australia.