A young Malaysian man, around 20 years old, has committed suicide in Villawood’s high security Mitchell compound.
He was found by his roommate, around 3.30pm today (Saturday 12 December), when he returned to the room but found the door locked from the inside.
The young man is understood to have been held in Villawood for a few months. It is not known why he was being held in Villawood.
Others in Mitchell told the Refugee Action Coalition that the situation in Mitchell is bad as the compound is locked down and people can’t move outside the compound.
“There is a basketball court, but nobody can play there any more,” RAC was told, “It is more like solitary confinement. You only see the same people all the time. We need freedom in here. The fences are killing people. The young fella was shocked by the fences when he came in here.”
Others in Mitchell compound noticed that the young man had been obviously losing weight in recent weeks.
“There must be a full enquiry,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition, “Even if the man was waiting to return home, he could have been granted a bridging visa and wait in the community until arrangements were made.”
In Brisbane recently, a Bosnian refugee held a hunger strike protest because even though he had signed to voluntarily return home, he was being held in a high security compound, with the government doing nothing to arrange his return.
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
