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Aboriginal remains tests halted

13 February 2007 - London's Natural History Museum has pledged not to conduct intrusive tests on Tasmanian aboriginals' remains.

The High Court agreement will be in place until a four-day hearing to discuss the matter on 22 February.

In November the museum agreed to return the remains to the Australian government after three-months of study.

But Geoffrey Robertson QC, for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, said the experiments were causing "torment" to the souls of the dead.

Mr Robertson said the torment would only stop when the remains were properly buried according to Aboriginal custom

The remains include the skull of an aboriginal person, thought to have been illegally exported to Britain in 1913, and the remains of 17 indigenous individuals from Tasmania.

Mr Robertson said that after the aboriginal population of Tasmania was wiped out by massacre and disease a number of grave robberies took place.

Some remains ended up in the lawful possession of the Natural History Museum from various collections over 100 years ago, he said.

Source: BBC

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