Villawood Rioters Held in Maximum Security at Silverwater
Villawood Rioters are being Held in Silverwater Gaol
Last week’s riot at the Villawood detention centre has left asylum seekers in a Sydney maximum security gaol, without charges.
Complaints are coming in about the treatment of the 22 individuals who were taken to the Silverwater prison in Sydney after their involvement in the riot. The involved parties have not been charged yet, but they do not have to be due to the the Migration Act. The Migration Act stipulates that the Department of Immigration and Citizenship can designate alternative suitable places of detention, including hospitals, apartments and motel rooms.
The “prisoners” are fearful about what is happening, since they haven’t been told why they are there or interviewed since being housed in the prison, according to Stephen Blanks, a secretary of the New South Wales Council of Civil Liberties. Mr. Blanks says the maximum security prison being used as an immigration detention center is completely inappropriate, despite the fig leaf of legality the Department of Immigration is relying on. A spokeswoman from the Australian Federal Police says they will continue to assess possible offenses relating to the incident.
The Council of Civil Liberties has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission stating their dissatisfaction with the department’s rationale for housing the men in a prison. Mr. Logan says the Department of Immigration and Citizenship is confident that the detainees are being treated the same as all others incarcerated in a New South Wales correctional centre.
Activists say the situation inside the Curtin Detention Centre is volatile and some detainees are staging a hunger strike. Mr. Rintoul, from the Curtin Detention Centre, says 150 protesters are there and 100 are on a hunger strike, but the Immigration Department claims there are 80 protesters with only 12 on a hunger strike.
Image Courtesy of publik16
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