Australian officials battled to contain unrest at a remote detention centre for asylum seekers in the Indian Ocean, with protesters lighting a series of small fires and guards withdrawing from the compound. Mr Dutton also gave her an undertaking the detainees wouldn’t bear any of the cost of travelling to New Zealand. Mr Dutton said 199 people were being held on Christmas Island, many with serious criminal records.
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“To be honest, I don’t know if a few of them are still going to be alive in a couple of hours”, he said, referring to the detainees.
“They are among a group of extreme-risk individuals who are alleged to have been involved in the disturbance at the centre”, he said.
One detainee required evacuation from the island for medical treatment, he said.
The Department of Immigration said the unrest started when a group of Iranian inmates staged a protest about the death of an Iranian Kurd, Fazel Chegeni.
“We need an independent and full investigation into the events that transpired following the death of a detainee outside the centre on Sunday, including the violent protests”, Mr Marles said.
“They’ve got a contract to perform and the commissioner obviously of the Australian Border Force and secretary of my department are looking very closely at what went wrong and why there was a failure, which clearly there was”.
However, a detainee told News Corp Australia that the five injured men were pretty badly beaten up, and that all detainees were being treated the same even if they didn’t participate in the riot or had surrendered peacefully.
“This morning’s operation to regain control of the centre, and ensure the welfare of those not participating in criminal damage activities, was achieved largely through negotiation and cooperation with detainees”, the statement said.
He added that advice he had received suggested there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Chegeni’s death.
The Australian government’s Department of Immigration announced on Twitter it was investigating the incident. People who think they can operate outside of the law have another thing coming.
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The situation facing inmates on Christmas Island has become a big issue in the relationship between Australia and neighbouring New Zealand.
