Nauru detainees 'sew lips together'

Four detainees at Nauru’s regionalprocessing centre have sewn their lips together in a protest over theirconditions, refugee advocates claim.

Nauru_asylum_121122_L_AAP_1478821300

(File: AAP)

Four detainees at Nauru's regional processing centre have sewn their lips together in a protest over their conditions, refugee advocates claim.

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition says 15 men are believed to be on a hunger strike, and four Iranian men have sewn their lips together.

“They're desperate to try to do something,” he says, adding that turmoil within the Nauruan government has caused further concern among detainees at the facility.

“They're now thinking -- will they ever be processed?”

Three senior government ministers have stepped down or been relived from their posts in the past few weeks, with one opposition government spokesman claiming conflict over the Australian-run detention centre is to blame, according to earlier reports.

A department of Immigration spokesman confirmed there was some “protest activity” at the centre yesterday afternoon.

“The centre is now calm,” the spokesman said. “There were four transferees who did engage in acts of self-harm however it wouldn't be appropriate to comment on the nature of that self-harm.”


Share
1 min read

Published

Updated

By Rhiannon Elston
Source: SBS

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world