Accused people smuggler case heard in Qld

An Iraqi refugee accused of organising asylum seekers to travel from Indonesia to Australia in a journey that ended with hundreds of people dying at sea has had his case briefly heard in court.

Maythem Kamil Radhi was this month extradited from New Zealand to Brisbane and charged for his alleged involvement in the 2001 people smuggling operation that led to 353 adults and children drowning.

He is charged with harbouring an unlawful non-citizen, a removee or a deportee.

Authorities allege Radhi facilitated the proposed entry into Australia of a group of five or more people between July 1 2001 and 19 October 2001, court documents show.

A small and overcrowded fishing vessel carrying the asylum seekers from Indonesia and bound for Christmas Island, known as the Siev X, sank.

The case of Radhi, 43, was briefly mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday and adjourned to November 6, when he will apply for bail.