escape – DISACCORDS

Darwin: Teenagers escape prison cells

14 September: Two teenagers escaped from their cells at the new prison in Darwin’s rural area but did not get out of the prison precinct. Police said the 16 and 15-year-old males broke out of their cells around 3:00am and were found sitting on the roof of the prison. Duty Superintendent Rob Burgoyne said the pair came down from the roof after an hour and were returned to their cells.

The NT Government decided to move juveniles out of the Don Dale juvenile detention centre after a break-out in August, when five teenagers escaped, with two remaining on the run for almost four days.

A few weeks later tear gas was used against six teenagers who escaped their cells, armed themselves with glass and smashed windows and light fittings. Corrections Commissioner Ken Middlebrook said he believed the teenagers, aged between 14 and 17 years, were protesting being placed in the secure unit after five of them had escaped earlier.

“I think they were trying to create as much damage as they possibly could to disable those cells so that they couldn’t be kept there,” he said. Continue reading “Darwin: Teenagers escape prison cells”

Darwin: two teenage asylum seekers flee immigration detention

31 July: Two teenage asylum seekers have fled from detention in Darwin, the Immigration Department has confirmed.

The ABC understands the two are unaccompanied Vietnamese boys, both aged 16, who were moved by the department to Darwin from Adelaide a month ago.

The pair had previously been living in community detention in Adelaide and attending Woodville High School.

Woodville principal Meredith Edwards said staff and students were devastated that the boys had been sent to Darwin.

“These are 16-year-old boys and up until now, they’ve committed no crime,” she said.

She has been told the boys ran away while they were attending classes at Sanderson High, a school in Darwin’s northern suburbs that teaches many asylum seekers detained at the Wickham Point detention centre. Continue reading “Darwin: two teenage asylum seekers flee immigration detention”

Perth: man escaped Serco guard while being deported from airport

8 June: A Vietnamese man who escaped Serco guards at Perth Airport yesterday while he was being deported is still on the run.

An intensive search involving officers from the Australian Federal Police and WA Police from three stations, backed up by the dog squad, failed to locate the man.

The missing detainee, who is not known to be a threat to the public, was described by officials as “an illegal maritime arrival”.

An AFP spokeswoman said the man escaped while under escort in the international departures terminal.

“At about 9.15am local time a Vietnamese national absconded while on escort at the departures check-in area within the Perth International Airport,” he said about 6pm.

“AFP and WA Police were advised and police assisted Serco in the search for the individual. The man has yet to be located.

WA, Vic: escapes from immigration detention

29 December: Two Vietnamese detainees escaped from the Yongah Hills Immigration Detention Centre in Northam, 90 kilometres east of Perth, on Friday night.

One person was recaptured within 24 hours, but the other man remains on the run.

Four months ago, five men escaped from the same facility, sparking a search that lasted several days.

In November, two Vietnamese men escaped from the Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre in Melbourne’s west

Australia: Detention Logs

Detention Logs is an independent site that publishes documents and data about Australian detention centres. The first wave of data is a searchable database of 7632 reported incidents across immigration detention facilities from October 2009 to May 2011, as recorded by the private contractors running the detention centres. These events range from self-harms, assaults and escapes to electric fence failures, complaints and aborted deportations.

Across that time, there were 77 escapes, along with four incidents recorded as ‘escape – mass breakout‘ and 56 recorded as ‘escape – attempted’.

There were 98 demonstrations within detention centres, as well as hundreds of records relating to hunger strikes – labeled as ‘Voluntary Starvation’. There were also hundreds of incidents of disturbance and damage.

See The Everyday Violence In Our Detention Centres, New Matilda

Nauru: escape, hunger strike

20 February: On Monday, three people escaped from the detention centre on Nauru. They were were later found by police and returned to detention.

Refugee advocates say four detainees at the Nauru detention centre have resorted to stitching their lips together in protest. The Refugee Action Coalition says more than a dozen detainees have joined a hunger strike, with four asylum seekers stitching their lips together.

The escapees and those on hunger strike are from among the most recent group of arrivals on Nauru, from Iran.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson, Nick Reimer, says people are feeling increasingly desperate about their plight. Continue reading “Nauru: escape, hunger strike”

36 minors escape from immigration detention; 17 still free

ABC online, January 29:

Seventeen Vietnamese asylum seekers who claim to be unaccompanied minors are missing from immigration centres.

The Immigration Department has confirmed 36 minors have escaped from custody between July 2010 and January 17 this year. Continue reading “36 minors escape from immigration detention; 17 still free”

Indonesia: Demonstrators set fire to Bima Regent’s office; Regent revokes contested mining permit

A more detailed report of these events can be read on Hidup Biasa (translated from Barawera)

Addition: After setting fire to the office, thousands to people went to the Bima Prison. 53 people were released after the crowd threatened to burn the prison if those held since the events on December 24 were not released. Prison officers met their request. The police are reported to be looking for the ‘escapees’. (via Negasi-negasi)

January 28: Indonesian local government officials revoked the mining permit of Australian company Arc Exploration, who were planning to build a gold mine in Bima. In December between two and eight people were killed by policeduring a port blockade against the proposed mine.

Protesters storm the Bima Regency office compound — A group of residents from Lambu, Sape and Langgudu districts storm the Bima Regency office compound.

On Thursday January 26, demonstrators stormed the Bima Regency office compound before burning the office and several other buildings in the compound in Bima, West Nusa Tenggara. Their anger was driven by the local administration failing to permanently revoke the mining permit of PT Sumber Mineral Nusantara (Arc Exploration).

On Saturday, following this demonstration, Regent Ferry Zulkarnain revoked the mining permit for “security reasons.”