Grave fears are held for the life on Iranian asylum seeker, Saeed Hassan Loo, who is believed to have been refusing fluids for the past few days of his 40-day hunger strike and is close to death.
A vigil organised by the Refugee Rights Action Network will be held tonight (Friday) at 7.00pm, at Royal Perth Hospital.
The Refugee Action Coalition is calling for Saeed to be immediately released.
“Saeed lived in the community for almost a year in 2012. There is no reason for him to be in detention. The government cannot forcibly send asylum seekers to Iran, and the department has not even completed an assessment of his asylum claims,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
Saeed is the second Iranian asylum seeker to have been close to death as a result of hunger strikes in the last three months. In January, ‘Martin’, an Iranian asylum seeker in Darwin came very close to death, and fifteen other Iranians in Darwin had also staged hunger strikes against their indefinite detention.
“The government has been warned about the harm it was inflicting on Iranian asylum seekers, but it has turned a blind eye. If Saeed dies, the responsibility will lie completely with Peter Dutton.”
Callous Serco attitude
A Facebook statement from Serco employee (see image) has revealed the callous attitude of some officers who have a duty of care to Saeed and other asylum seekers. The callous attitude reflects the stance taken by the Immigration department itself. Both are unacceptable.
“We are calling for Saeed’s brother to be urgently brought from Christmas Island to Perth, to reunite the brothers,” said Rintoul, “They have been together since they came to Australia in 2010. They should not be in detention and they should not be separated.”
Saeed’s brother was among a group of asylum seekers, alleged to be protesters, who were shanghaied from Yongah Hill to Christmas Island in late March and subjected to a ‘behavioural management plan’. He is being held in isolation in a high security section of Christmas Island.
For more information, contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713 or Victoria Martin-Iverson at the vigil 0427 256 131
