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An Iranian Asylum Seeker in Australia’s Immigration Detention System Has Died on Manus Island

 

The death comes after days of protests inside the centre, an Immigration Department spokesman said the Government was aware of the death in the Lorengau township.

Police are investigating the event and have cordoned off the area where the man was found.

The cause of death is not known.

Amnesty International refugee coordinator Graham Thom said the death was “heartbreaking news”.

“It is not yet clear if his death was a result of self-harm or violence,” he said.

“This death is yet another bleak tragedy to arise out of the ongoing suffering and tensions on Manus Island.

Greens immigration spokesman Nick Mckim said the Australian Government knew the man was mentally ill, but largely ignored requests to help him.
“As a result of those requests being ignored, there’s a very good chance if those requests had have been agreed to, he’d be alive today,” Senator McKim said.

“A number of people contacted the Australian Government and Australia’s medical providers on Manus Island asking for this person to be brought to Australia, and he wasn’t.

“This is an absolutely avoidable tragedy.”

Another asylum seeker Behrouz Boochani, who identified himself as a friend of the Iranian, said the man’s calls for help were ignored.

“I have this information that four days ago he wanted to kill himself,” Mr Boochani said.

“And also I talk with some of the refugees in the transit centre and they say that he came to us a few days ago and said ‘someone wants to kill me’.”

Mr Boochani said the man had received no medical treatment in the community despite his condition being known among fellow asylum seekers.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has been contacted for comment.

Man’s death preceded by protests

The death is the sixth to take place in an Australian offshore detention centre since 2014, according to Monash University’s Australian Border Deaths Database.

It comes following days of protests inside the Centre, against attempts to force the asylum seekers to move out.

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s Natasha Blucher said tensions were increasing at the immigration centre.

“No matter what the circumstances are around today’s reported death, Manus is not safe for refugees,” she said in a statement.

“We are deeply concerned for the refugees and people seeking asylum who remain on Manus.”

The asylum seekers confronted guards and police on Friday, refusing to leave the compound.

Most of the 700 refugees on the island are refusing to move because they believe they are not safe in the PNG community.