Month: December 2017

West Java: Dozens arrested for looting Depok store

25 December 2017 – The Depok Police in West Java have arrested dozens of individuals for their alleged roles in looting a clothing store in the city in the wee hours on Sunday.

“We have arrested 24 people. 23 men and one woman,” Depok Police Criminal Investigation Department head Comr. Putu Kholis said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the suspects were arrested at separate times and locations.

The Police confiscated a number pieces of evidence, including six motorcycles and sharp weapons, as well as dozens of looted pieces of clothing.

A one minute 24 second clip of CCTV footage of the crime went viral on the web on Sunday, showing the perpetrators looting the store in Sukmajaya subdistrict. (fac)

Melbourne: Serco Compound Attacked in Solidarity with Refugees in Detention

sercoNovember 20, 2017: Last night, a group of people in Naarm / Melbourne, responding to the call out for 8 Days of Solidarity for Refugees, undertook an action targeting Serco.

Serco is a multinational corporation which is directly responsible for the inhumane incarceration conditions faced by refugees, asylum seekers, and detainees, in so-called Australia. Serco is also a major player in the international privatised prison complex.

The group gained access to a central Naarm / Melbourne, Serco compound and immobilised 7 vehicles. The group also left spray-painted messages on Serco compound property, including vehicles, reading “Serco Psycho Scum”, “Serco, profiting from refugee detention- this is war”, and “Serco profits from misery, we hold YOU responsible”.

Deaths in Detention Vengeance and Accountability Crew

Hamilton: High School vandalised day before final closure

The final bell for Hamilton Senior High School rang on Thursday, and the building was set to officially close on Friday.

However police say an unknown offender gained entry to the building on Purvis Street in the early hours of Friday morning and set fire to a number of bins inside the school.

While there was no structural damage to the building, the damage cost is estimated at around $5000.

Police spokeswoman Susan Usher said the fire was being treated as deliberate.

The investigation comes just days after vandals trashed another Perth school.

Around 25 windows at Carlisle Primary School were broken during an attack on the weekend, and students in year one, two and three had to be shifted to the art room and library for their final week of classes.

Hakea: Inmates threaten staff in riot at WA jail

Special operations group officers were called to Hakea Prison late on Wednesday when seven out-of-control inmates trashed part of a wing and made threats against staff.

No injuries have been reported and the Department of Justice will review the incident.

Secretary of the WA Prison Officers Union, John Welch, says the incident highlights the urgent need for the state government to fix “chronic overcrowding” in WA prisons.

Mr Welch said Hakea was about 300 prisoners above design capacity, with the majority of inmates double-bunked.

He said a new prison was desperately needed as WA’s adult prison population rapidly increased from 4964 to 6776 over the past five years, according to Department of Justice statistics.

“We understand and are sympathetic to (the government’s) financial plight but our members deserve to be working in a safe environment,” Mr Welch said.

The number of prisoners on remand has also skyrocketed, up from 1754 to 2002 in the past year.

Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan congratulated prison staff for handling the incident quickly and with minimal damage.

Damaged cells will be up and running tomorrow, a Department of Justice spokesperson said.

Sydney: Vandalism of Liberal & Labor Offices in Solidarity with Manus Refugees

Untitled

December 1, 2017 – In the early hours of the 29th of November the electoral offices of Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Anthony Albanese were decorated with stencils that said:

Evacuate Manus. Your Inaction Is Blood On Your Hands. Refugees Welcome.

These actions were undertaken in solidarity with the refugee men on Manus, who for years now have fought against the brutal ‘refugee policy’ of the Australian and PNG States.