Death of Iranian asylum seeker in Australia`s detention

Current conditions in Australia`s detention centres are getting worse for asylum seekers, they are being detained for long periods of time and they not knowing when and if they will get accepted as refugees or will be deported back to their home country.

The period of detained asylum seekers witness self-harm, suicide and protests which causes more depression for them. Recently a 44-year-old Iranian man was transferred to hospital from Villawood detention centre with chest pains on Saturday 25th February but died early on Monday 27th February because of an apparent heart attack.

The Iranian man arrived in Australia by plane in April 2010 and was in detention since then. Papers had been lodged with the Iranian embassy for his deportation after his asylum claim had been repeatedly rejected, and the man, previously jailed by the Iranian regime and whose brother was executed, feared for his life.

Mr Ian Rintoul, the Head of the Refugee Action Coalition said the man had a wife and two children in Iran and a cousin in Australia. He said he had been living in Villawood's housing section for four weeks before being taken to hospital.

Dr Michael Dudley, the chairman of Suicide Prevention Australia, said the link between anxiety and heart disease was well known, and he had written a psychiatric assessment of the man, that clearly stated prolonged detention was worsening his depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

''He clearly had symptoms of panic, palpitations, sweating, neck and chest pain and was unable to sleep because of his worries. Every night he had nightmares of what would happen to his family. He had flashbacks to events in Iran, triggered by events at Villawood including federal police and riot squad raids on rooms,'' Dr Dudley said. ''His vulnerability was really compounded by his detention and the strong possibility of being deported to his death”

Dr Dudley`s report on the Iranian man had said he should be moved to community detention in line with department guidelines. The Australian Immigration Department refused the man's release into community detention, stating that two psychiatric assessments did not specify he could not be treated for his mental illness inside a detention centre.

Mohammad Sadeghphour, a member of Australian Supporters of Democracy in Iran, said: ''The Iranian regime didn't kill him, but unfortunately our government did.''

Mr Sadeghphour said ''When I saw him last week he was a different guy. He was so worried about his children and his wife. The Iranian community wrote letters to the Minister and detention centre management.''

He is the fifth Villawood detainee to die in 18 months. The previous four were suicides. An Immigration Department spokeswoman said the department expressed its sympathy to the man's family and would co-operate with any investigation.

There are currently 3,031 people in immigration detention centres around Australia. Almost a third has been in detention for more than a year. A new report by Amnesty International says conditions in detention centres are not good for asylum seekers. In fact, they have said the Australian Government should close the detention centres immediately.

Rejected Asylum-seekers Riot in Australia

A new report looking at detention conditions in Australia has found that the growing number of asylum-seekers in detention centres who have had their refugee applications rejected was one of the factors which led to riots in the Christmas Island and Villawood detention centres earlier this year.

Buildings were destroyed by fire and detainees were arrested during violent protests and riots on Christmas Island and at Villawood in March and April. The riots caused $8.5 million worth of damage.

The report found that while the length of time taken to process refugee applications was one reason in the decision of asylum-seekers to riot, they were also influenced by the rejection of their applications and their frustration at the people smugglers who promised them visas.

The report says “a strong motivation from detainees who have received negative decisions flows from their reaction to having paid a significant sum of money to people smugglers to facilitate their travel to Australia with an accompanying 'promise' of receiving a visa.”

The report concludes that rejected asylum-seekers believe the decisions about their applications are wrong and that this is leading to disobedience, inappropriate behaviors, disturbances and self-harm. According to the report, 80 of the 100 detainees who took part in the Christmas Island riot had their refugee claims rejected. 19 of these asylum-seekers had been rejected at their first interview. Of the nine detainees charged over the Villawood riot, all had had their refugee applications rejected.

The report also found that overcrowding and the long time asylum-seekers were now spending in detention were becoming part of the problem. The number of asylum-seekers in detention increased dramatically in 2010. In less than 18 months the number of people in detention centres grew from a few hundred to more than 6000. The report concluded that this was placing detention centres under "severe stress" and that they were now operating on an emergency footing.

Australia’s immigration minister, Chris Bowen has said that since then there has been a reduction in the number of people locked up in detention. However now the number of asylum-seekers going to Australia has increased, overcrowding could become a problem again.

In a private letter to the Department of Immigration, the company responsible for health services in detention centres says that the long detention of asylum-seekers has created a high demand for psychiatric services which its staff cannot meet. The letter describes an “increasing surge” of asylum-seekers needing mental health services, particularly in remote locations. The letter discusses the rising number of detainees being prescribed medication for long periods of time; the increasing number of asylum-seekers with a history of trauma and torture; and the growing number of asylum-seekers who have been in detention for more that 18 months.

Mental health professionals throughout Australia argue that the overwhelming majority of asylum-seekers have fled war-torn countries or have seen and experienced trauma and horror on their way to Australia. They argue that many are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and that this is made worse by their detention in isolated and remote locations and the stress of the long time it is taking for their refugee applications to be processed. According to these professional most asylum-seekers in detention have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress due to their long periods of detention.