Another Iranian asylum seeker dies on Nauru Island
An organization supporting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia announced on Friday, June 15, the death of another Iranian asylum seeker on the island of Nauru.
According to AFP, the Iranian refugee, whose name has not yet been released, was 26 years old, suffered from depression and, according to evidence, attempted suicide.
According to reports, the asylum seeker was sent to the island nation of Nauru by the Australian government "about five years ago" along with his mother and brother.
This is not the first time an Iranian refugee has committed suicide in Australian refugee camps.
In August 2017, Australian authorities announced that an Iranian citizen named "Hamed Shamshiripour," 28, had apparently "hanged himself."
In an effort to discourage asylum seekers from entering Australia by sea and boat, the government has been sending these refugees to Nauru and Manus Islands for several years.
This is despite the fact that from the very beginning, the living conditions in the camps on these two islands and the process of handling these refugees' cases have been criticized by human rights defenders and the United Nations.
For example, in November 2017, the UN warned about the emergency situation in Australia's refugee detention center, located in Papua New Guinea, and called on Canberra authorities to take steps to resolve the tension that had been brewing for several days between refugees and relevant officials.
In this regard, the Australian Department of Home Affairs has only announced that it is aware of the death of the Iranian asylum seeker, but will not comment on the matter.
Iain Rintoul, of the Coalition for Action for Refugees, described the suicide victim as "a young, beloved man who would do anything for his brother and mother."
According to Mr Rintoul, the Australian government has "consistently" ignored the pleas for help from asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus, and "all the asylum seekers and refugees" living on the two islands "suffer from some form of mental illness".
According to this human rights defender, the suicide of the young Iranian is the fifth death to occur in Nauru since 2013.
According to the Coalition for Action for Refugees, 1,600 people are still being held in camps on the islands of Nauru and Manus.
According to research and statistics published by the Australian Parliament, the majority of asylum seekers in Manus and another camp on Nauru are Iranians.
Source: Radio Farda
