Government must release man on hunger strike into community detention, not let him die

The Abbott Government is leaving a hunger-striking Iranian man to die in detention rather than relieving his suffering by releasing him into community detention, ASRC CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis said today.

“The young man has gone for a total of 76 days without food in a Darwin detention centre and is very close to death. He has lost 30 kilograms in 11 weeks and is suffering horrendously, both mentally and physically.

“Today, he told me that he fled Iran to escape being locked up and tortured – only to suffer the same fate in Australia.

“He has lost all hope for his life and his future and has made a conscious decision to die on his own terms rather than endure being locked in detention any longer.

“The Government could intervene at any time to alleviate this young man’s suffering by releasing him into community detention while he waits for an upcoming judicial review of his refugee case.

“But they continue to do nothing to help him.

“Even worse, they have denied him some of the most basic human rights and breached their duty of care to him on a number of occasions:

•  He was refused a request to ring his mother in Iran on his mobile phone
• He was denied pain medication for a serious foot infection over a five-day period until his lawyer intervened.  He ended up in hospital needing a five-day course of intravenous antibiotics to treat the infection
• Now back in detention, he has been placed in a room well away from the medical centre, forcing him to walk 25 minutes on crutches to get there. He was previously in a room five minutes away from medical assistance.

“This man is proof of how far our Government is willing to put its political agenda above basic decency,” Mr Karapanagiotidis said.

“There are thousands more people like this man stuck in detention in Australia, on Manus Island and Nauru who are living with such despair, desperation and hopelessness that they see hunger striking and self-harm as some of the only choices left to them.

“The Government is leaving people languish in detention for up to five years.  Such lengthy detention is having a profound impact on their wellbeing and their mental health.  It’s a form of torture.

“We are seeing the terrible consequences of this cruelty, with hundreds of men currently hunger striking and resorting to self-harm on Manus Island.  They have been denied the most basic freedoms for so long, that they are seeking to exercise the only control they have left, which is control over their own bodies.

“In their words: Enough is enough.

“The Government cannot continue to treat people this way.  As a first step towards compassion and humanity, they must release this young Iranian man into community detention and ensure he is receiving the treatment he needs.”

Inquiries: Mary Fall 0407 683 664