Refugee advocates have raised concerns for the welfare of a 36 year-old Iranian asylum seeker, Mohammad, scheduled to be returned from Perth to Christmas Island on Friday 27 December.
Mohammad arrived on Christmas Island in July this year suffering, among other things, from the results of a botched operation in Iran.
He was sent to Perth for medical assessment and treatment in July, shortly after he arrived in Christmas Island.
He is scheduled for surgery in Perth in February 2014, but the Immigration Department plans to send him Christmas Island tomorrow.
This case comes hard on the heels of the revelations of an Iranian father and mentally-disabled adult daughter being held in desperate circumstances also in Perth IDC.
“This seems to be another case of the immigration department bureaucracy ignoring common sense and risking the welfare of asylum seekers,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.
“The medical facilities on Christmas Island are rudimentary and Mohammed’s condition still requires on-going treatment for bleeding and pain. And what a colossal waste of money – to transfer an asylum seeker from Perth to Christmas Island, only to bring them back to Perth for an operation in February.”
For more information contact Ian Rintoul 0417 275 713
