Australia : Two Iranian refugees beaten in detention 

Two Iranian men seeking asylum have been savagely beaten by PNG police and PNG Immigration officials on New’s Eve.

The two men seeking asylum were in the Lorengau settlement area on Manus last night when PNG officials arrested them around 8pm.

The men seeking asylum claim they were doing nothing wrong and were only going to join New Year celebrations.

The two refugees are still in police custody  although no charges have been laid.

Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition said “That two refugees could be beaten so badly by PNG police on New Year’s eve makes it clear that there is no freedom for refugees on Manus, ”

“We would expect the PNG police to be held accountable for the alleged assault, but the PNG police routinely act with impunity.”

“The Australian government itself is a party to the brutality, having ignored the PNG Supreme Court decision in April 2016 to close the detention centre.

Neither of the two men seeking asylum has been seen by doctors or received any medical attention for what appear to be serious injuries.

The two men seeking asylum have confirmed to the Refugee Action Coalition that they were first approached around 8pm, by PNG Immigration officers who told them they had no right to be outside of the detention centre.

The Immigration officers were quickly joined by PNG police, who began to assault the refugees – beating their head, face, neck and back.

Neither have received any pain relief. Mehdi says he believes that his wrist and jaw may be broken; while Mohammad is suffering severe headache and pain and thinks his nose is broken.