In the early hours of Sunday morning, 19 January, at the Wickham Point Immigration Detention Centre near Darwin, Serco guards raided the rooms of eight Iranian asylum seekers, video-recording their activities as they went.
All eight were then taken to the Northern Immigration Detention Centre, much closer to Darwin’s airport and have been given removal dates between 27 and 31 January.
The eight Iranians in Darwin have been given no opportunity to obtain legal advice and after months in detention have been screened out. They now face being removed to Iran without their protection claims being properly considered.
“We are extremely concerned that the Minister should be forcibly sending any asylum seeker back to Iran. Iran’s record of human rights abuses is well known,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
