Australia faces refugee legal bid

BBC:

Sunday, 28 August 2005

By Red Harrison

BBC News, Sydney

An Iranian boy is due to begin court action against the Australian government on Monday, in a move that will make legal history in Australia.

Ten-year-old Shayan Bedrai claims his time in refugee detention camps caused catastrophic mental health problems.

He is the first refugee to seek compensation for the experience of being detained in Australia.

Nearly 4,000 children have been held in Australia's refugee detention camps in the past five years.

Shayan's lawyers say this case is likely to be the first of many.

Witness

The Bedrai family arrived among a boatload of illegal immigrants in early 2000, when Shayan was five.

Authorities put the family behind the razor-wire fences of a remote detention camp in the outback.

According to his lawyers, Shayan saw riots broken up with tear gas and water cannons, watched as people tried to commit suicide and was exposed to hunger strikes at the camp.

He endured conditions that no child nor human being should be expected to cope with, his lawyers say.

His parents are seeking compensation on his behalf.

They say Shayan has a condition which leaves him sitting in silence for days, refusing to eat or drink, and he frequently needs hospital treatment to survive.

Three years ago, the Australian Human Rights Commission ruled that Shayan's detention was unjust.

The body recommended the government pay compensation and the costs of psychiatric treatment - but the government declined.