Thursday, March 10, 2016



Nauru is not safe for refugees

Another day, another assault on a refugee on Nauru - this time with a machete:

An Iranian refugee at Nauru claims he was slashed in the head with a large knife normally used to cut down coconuts, in an alleged attack that raises further doubt over of the safety of refugees on the island.

[...]

He claims to have lost about one litre of blood and attended hospital, where he received multiple stitches. Photos purportedly of the alleged victim show a long gash along the back of his head.

The refugee said he called police later that night and was told to attend the police station another day.

The man said the alleged attackers returned to his home the following night, and he escaped by locking himself inside. He claims to have later made a statement to police reporting both incidents. An unverified copy of this statement, dated March 7, has been sighted by Fairfax Media.


The Nauruan police, in accordance with their publicly announced policy, are claiming that there was no assault and the claim has been made "made for media exposure only and has no basis". But the Sydney Morning Herald has photos documenting the injuries.

This is the "safe third country" Australia uses as its gulag: one where refugees are effectively beyond the protection of the law and can be attacked with impunity.