By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE, Australia (AA) – A 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker is in a “critical” condition after setting himself alight outside an Australian detention center on the Pacific island of Nauru.
The man, known only as Omid, attempted to self-immolate in front of United Nations representatives Wednesday morning.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton described his condition to reporters as “very, very serious”, while Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul told Anadolu Agency that the man’s wife has been summoned to his bedside.
Under its immigration policy, Australia detains asylum seekers arrive by boat at offshore detention centers including Nauru, where conditions have been described as appalling by rights advocates.
While at the detention center, the status of the asylum seekers is evaluated. Omid had been classified as a refugee.
News Corp quoted a Nauruan government spokeswoman Wednesday as saying Omid’s condition is “critical” after he conducted the self-immolation as a “political protest” timed to coincide with the visit by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The incident coincided with a visit from three Canberra-based UNHCR staff, all of who witnessed the man’s actions.
“Unfortunately we have seen protests like this during high profile visits, as some from within the refugee community try and influence the Australian government’s offshore processing policies,” the spokeswoman said.
Rintoul, however, disputes this claim.
“We’ve seen nothing like these protests before on Nauru,” he told Anadolu Agency. “UNHCR visits in the past have been relatively uneventful.”
He added that protests on Nauru have been ongoing since March 23.
“People have been waiting for far too long with no answers,” he underlined. “They have been detained there for three years and they still don’t have answers regarding their refugee determination.”
Minister Dutton has called for the 23-year-old Iranian to be airlifted off Nauru “later tonight” as “the outlook is not good at all”.
According to Rintoul, the detention center is in “meltdown”.
Amid fears for the mental health of detainees, five asylum seekers have reportedly attempted suicide in the past 24 hours.
Four people drank washing powder Tuesday night following 38 days of protest at the family camp for detainees.
Dutton confirmed there have been other incidents of self-harm at the center.
News broadcaster ABC quoted him as saying that three people were returned to Nauru “because the medical assistance that they sought in Australia has been provided”.
“What we’ve been very clear about is that if people come to Australia for medical assistance they’ll be returning back to Nauru once that medical assistance has been provided,” he said.
An Iranian woman who witnessed the self-immolation told the ABC that Omid “got very angry and distressed and burnt himself” during a meeting with UNHCR staff.
“None of them helped. None of them called an ambulance, they just called the police and ran away,” she added. “Doctors didn’t know what to do. They didn’t have supplies to help him.” She said doctors informed her that Omid suffered burns to 50 percent of his body “and he might die”.
