Two Rwandans who confessed to murder resettled in Australia under Trump-Turnbull deal

Two Rwandans who confessed to murder have been resettled in Australia, the Prime Minister has confirmed.

Malcolm Turnbull negotiated the refugee swap deal with US President Donald Trump in a testy phone call, the transcript of which was famously leaked.

Two Rwandan refugees who confessed to the murder of tourists in 1999 were resettled in Australia as part of a controversial refugee swap deal struck between the US and Australia.

The Prime Minister tonight confirmed the pair were resettled, after reports emerged in the US media earlier today.

“I can confirm that the two individuals were subjected to strict security and character checks by our security agencies,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

“That included checks relating to national security, criminality, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“That resulted in an assessment that they did not represent a risk to security and they were cleared.

“Keeping Australians safe is my number one priority.”

In what amounts to a political landmine two days out form the election, which has in part been fought on the issue of border security, US news website Politico carried a report that the two men, which it has named, were accepted as part of the deal.

According to Politico, the men were extradited to the US to stand trial and confessed to the crimes, which saw eight tourists slaughtered by Hutu rebels in 1999.

Despite the confessions the men walked free after a US court ruled they had been tortured while in custody in Rwanda, tainting their admissions.

Malcolm Turnbull, who negotiated the execution of the deal with US President Donald Trump in a testy phone call, the transcript of which was famously leaked, indicated Australia was prepared to take unsavoury people in order to empty the refugee facilities on Nauru and Manus Island.

“Basically, we are taking people from the previous administration that they were very keen on getting out of the United States,” Mr Turnbull told Mr Trump in 2017. “We will take more. We will take anyone that you want us to take.”