Riots on Christmas Island over refugee death

A statement by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection confirmed the
"major disturbance," although they denied that there was a "large scale 'riot'," and said it is working
with its service providers "to assess and resolve the situation."

Ian Rintoul, a spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) in Australia who has been in
contact with refugees at the facility, said the rioting started Sunday night after detainees were
informed that the escaped refugee -- who he named as Fazel Chegeni -- had been found dead "in the
jungle."

He said although there was no information or evidence to suggest that anyone had been involved in
the death, the detainees immediately became suspicious of the involvement of guards from the
center's management company, Serco.
"The guards abandoned the detention center at 11 p.m. last night and there are presently no guards
manning the center at all," he added. "The refugees are now expecting the inevitable, which is either
the arrival of the Australian Federal Police or the armed Serco Emergency Response Team."
Significant damage has been reported at the camp, including a number of small fires and smashed
walls and fences, although Rintoul said there had been no major damage to the accommodation
blocks. Australia's Immigration Department said that the guards had been withdrawn from the
compound for "safety reasons" but that the camp's perimeter had not been breached.
Investigation underwayFazel Chegeni was an Iranian Kurdish refugee aged in his early thirties who
arrived in Australia in 2010 seeking asylum, according to the RAC.
Australian officials declined to confirm his name as they say the investigation is ongoing. However,
they previously released a statement saying the body of an escapee had been found at the bottom of
cliffs on the island by an Australian Federal Police search and rescue team who were looking for
him.
The Department said the cause of death was unknown and is now the subject of a coronial inquiry.
Rintoul said that his organization had also been instructed by Chegeni's family to seek an

independent autopsy.
Described by Rintoul as a "gentle, tortured soul," Chegeni had reportedly been tortured in Iran and
had a well-known history of mental illness, including three previous suicide attempts on Australian
soil.
Although Chegeni's refugee status had been confirmed by the Australian government two and a half
years ago, he remained in detention pending successful application to the country's immigration
minister for a protection visa to allow him to live in the community.
"Fazel's tortured history and his repeated suicide attempts speak to the fact that he should not have
been on Christmas Island and subjected to the treatment he has received," said Rintoul.

Australian border protectionAustralia has a strict border protection policy and sends all asylum
seekers arriving on its shores by boat to detention centers for processing.
The Christmas Island Immigration Detention Center lies on a remote Australian territory 2,650
kilometers (1,650 miles) north-west of Perth and housed 958 asylum seekers at the end of August
2015, according to the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC).
Other Australian "offshore processing facilities" include Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and
Nauru in the South Pacific. A total of 4,352 people, including 602 children, were held in detention at
the end of August 2015, according to the ASRC.
The policy has been endorsed by successive Australian governments on the basis that the journeys
asylum seekers make by boat are dangerous and controlled by criminal gangs. However, Australia
has come under repeated criticism for its harsh policies from numerous local and international
human rights organizations.

A report by the United Nations special rapporteur on torture released in March 2015 said that
Australia was systematically violating the International Convention Against Torture and violating the
rights of asylum seekers -- including children -- by "failing to provide adequate detention conditions."