Warning: this article contains mention of suicide and self-harm.
The Human Rights Law Centre has slammed the Morrison government’s continued use of Nauru for offshore processing, saying that leaked emails from Nauru police demonstrate the appalling disregard for refugees and asylum seekers detained there.
Earlier this week, a trove of emails belonging to the Nauru Police Force were published online, purportedly by a group of anonymous hackers protesting Australia’s policy of mandatory offshore processing.
These email show that the dwindling number of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia’s offshore processing centres in Nauru are still frequently attempting suicide and self-harming — with threats of self-immolation common.
The internal emails between police also reveal a flippant attitude towards the plight of detainees, as well as a resistance to media scrutiny.
These emails include routine reporting of incidents affecting asylum seekers, confirming that people detained in Nauru continue to harm themselves at high rates.
Wilson Security, which was contracted by the Australian government to run Nauru’s processing centres, briefs the Nauru government, Nauru police, Australia’s Home Affairs and the Australian Federal Police each month on self harm, threats to self harm, hunger strikes, and other incidents.
Briefings contain lists of refugees and asylum seekers who are assessed as being a high risk of self-immolation, self-harm or aggressive behaviour. The meeting minutes contain regular incident reports that detail threats and acts of arson, inciting riots and suicide attempts.
The leaked emails also show a detached tone from some of the police who are dealing with these situations. One police officer forwarded an email showing gruesome images of an asylum seeker who had slit their wrists, with a message: “Refer photo evidence of our drama detainee” with a smiling emoji.
Another officer responded to a weekly intelligence update noting a threat to self-immolate: “Was it because of his refugee status as usual?”
The documents show police frequently chalking acts of self harm up to ulterior motives. In 2017, Nauru’s Deputy Police Commissioner Kalinda Blake wrote in an email to all staff that asylum seekers and refugees were intentionally getting in traffic accidents because they thought getting hurt was “the only way of getting off this island”. Other threats are attributed to refugees and asylum seekers trying to get better rooms or get urgent appointments with staff.
Other emails show how the force responded to claims of mistreatment in the centres. One police staff member circulated information about the visit of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and prompted staff to be prepared.
“I am assuming that there will be claims of human torture taken place in the past by the Nauru Police Force or maybe not. Either way best we be ready and confident to answer,” one said.
Another one shows the police commissioner forwarding a request from an Australian journalist, about a refugee allegedly being attacked by men on Nauru, to the country’s president Lionel Rouwen Aingimea. He responded: “Leave it. Don’t answer them”.
The Human Rights Law Centre is an non-government organisation which has represented refugees and asylum seekers in Nauru’s refugee processing centre.
The centre’s senior lawyer Scott Cosgriff said the leaked Nauru police emails build on the assaults, sexual assaults and self-harm exposed in the 2016 Nauru Files: “We can now see even more clearly the appalling disregard for the safety and dignity of refugees and asylum seekers held on the island.”
He called Australia’s offshore processing policy an absolute failure.
“Families have been ripped apart. People have died. Hundreds of men, women and children have lost years of their lives and still don’t have any permanent home. The Morrison government must end this dark chapter in our history and close offshore detention once and for all,” he said.
Leaked emails also show how the Nauru Police Force and the Australian Federal Police have responded to the initial hacking.
An email sent by Nauru Police Commissioner Iven Notte criticised Crikey for covering the email leak.
“Crikey is [sic] online publication platform than [sic] can throw any story in the public arena, and we strongly believe that the intention is against the Australian government, to course [sic] damage for the upcoming general election with the offshore processing centre here in Nauru,” he wrote.
Notte did not respond to Crikey’s request for comment.
A cybercrime investigator from the Australian Federal Police contacted the Icelandic company hosting the email leak and asked them to take it down, even after acknowledging “whistleblower protections and free media” in Australian and Icelandic law, because it is “enabling criminal activity”.
The host, FlokiNET, refused: “The public has the right to know what is happening in Nauru and you will not stop it.”
For anyone seeking help, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is on 1300 22 4636. In an emergency, call 000.
And yet so little interest from other media outlets. This is just ongoing torture for these people, with no end in sight and neither party caring, except when they can come use them as election fodder. How are we not a pariah on the world stage for this? Instead, the UK and the US are emulating this tactic. There is something deeply ironic about a former prison colony exporting cruel and tortuous ways to imprison others.
It’s a damning side effect of adversarial politics – where it’s all about getting elected and the compassionate governing of the country comes second to that.
Interesting that of all the OECD members three of the most outspoken ‘Christian value’ countries, US, UK & Aust, treat asylum seekers so badly. In our case literally using torture tactics to deter future arrivals. And there’s little difference between libs and labs.
If we want a different outcome this time, vote differently!
I think the very fact that only three people have bothered to comment in 22 hours says it all.
The government or opposition would not get away with it if the Australian people were outraged and voted with their feet. Unfortunately, no one wants to admit, let alone address the issue of this being a racist country. We need to have a very respectful but honest discussion about what the country really is.
We need multi cultural representatives in parliament, on our public boards and institutions. Until that is forced upon us, nothing will change.
I am outraged, but I am also exhausted. Many of us work very hard at the politics and the policies and at supporting individual refugees here (in detention and in community), on Nauru and stuck in Indoneisa. We fuidn raise (so that people can get to Canada), we rally, we hold vigils, we write letters, we fundraise for court cases etc etc etc. But, yes, it is now quite normal for Australians to be quite comfortable with the idea that (i)boat peopole do need to be demnised as a lesson to others and (2)refugees generally are not Australia’s problem. “They should stay where they are and not disturb our equanimity” would be a reasonable summary of the general view I think.
The feeling among the community is so in favour that it’s almost frightening. Our ALP branch has pushed fo this to change and to get a motion to this adopted at the Qld state conference. We’re getting there in small steps buut it’s so difficult.Having worked in hospitals all around Qld and in private practice, I’ve been appalled by some of the staff attitudes in the various tea rooms and dining rooms.