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Hunger striker close to death on Manus

An Iraqi asylum seeker is preparing to die after a six month hunger strike at the Manus Island detention centre.

An Iraqi asylum seeker, Mohammad Albederee
An Iraqi asylum seeker is ready to die after a six month hunger strike in detention at Manus Island. (AAP)

An Iraqi asylum seeker who has been on a hunger strike for more than six months at the Manus Island detention centre says he's dying.

Mohammad Albederee stopped eating to protest the lack of medical treatment for kidney and shoulder problems, after an alleged assault by guards at the Papua New Guinea detention centre last year.

"I feel I will lose my life very soon," the 31-year-old father of three said in a video obtained by AAP.

A tearful Mr Albederee then pleads for help.

"I need help, I don't want to die," he said.

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In the video, he holds up bags of vomit and says he can't keep even fluids down.

The department of immigration has insisted Mr Albederee is receiving appropriate medical care.

Mr Albederee was reportedly flown to Port Moresby in mid-June for x-rays and a MRI but instead of being kept in a hospital, was put in a hotel room and guarded for 12 days.

The immigration department says reports Mr Albederee is near death are "untrue".

Mr Albederee "continues to receive appropriate clinical care" at the Manus Island detention centre, a department spokesman said in a statement.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



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