European blood
12-02-2011, 06:25 PM
THREE Kurdish men at Darwin's immigration detention centre have sewn their lips shut, and two are in hospital after taking an overdose, refugee activists say.
Three Faili Kurd asylum seekers from a region straddling the border of Iraq and Iran sewed their lips together yesterday, activists claimed.
About 9pm (CST) yesterday, a fourth Kurdish asylum seeker was taken to hospital by ambulance after he took an overdose and collapsed.
A fifth Kurdish asylum seeker was taken to hospital about 40 minutes later in the same condition.
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said the protesters had been in detention for between 18 and 22 months and had their applications for asylum rejected, but they could not be repatriated because they were stateless.
"The government knows that it cannot send the Faili Kurds anywhere, yet they are being kept in detention," Mr Rintoul said in a statement.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship confirmed that three detainees began protesting last night.
Without specifying whether their lips were sewn together, the spokeswoman said the injuries were not life threatening.
"They have been offered on-site medical treatment and appropriate mental health support," she said.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/three-darwin-detainees-sew-lips-together/story-e6frfku0-1226202890225#ixzz1eQHTfeE5
Three Faili Kurd asylum seekers from a region straddling the border of Iraq and Iran sewed their lips together yesterday, activists claimed.
About 9pm (CST) yesterday, a fourth Kurdish asylum seeker was taken to hospital by ambulance after he took an overdose and collapsed.
A fifth Kurdish asylum seeker was taken to hospital about 40 minutes later in the same condition.
Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said the protesters had been in detention for between 18 and 22 months and had their applications for asylum rejected, but they could not be repatriated because they were stateless.
"The government knows that it cannot send the Faili Kurds anywhere, yet they are being kept in detention," Mr Rintoul said in a statement.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship confirmed that three detainees began protesting last night.
Without specifying whether their lips were sewn together, the spokeswoman said the injuries were not life threatening.
"They have been offered on-site medical treatment and appropriate mental health support," she said.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/three-darwin-detainees-sew-lips-together/story-e6frfku0-1226202890225#ixzz1eQHTfeE5