Last night on Q&A I asked Malcolm Turnbull a question but unfortunately he didn’t respond to me. Prime minister, now again, I look at your eyes and shout at you to make you answer my questions. What is my crime? Why am I still in this illegal prison after three years? Why you did not accept the Papua New Guinea supreme court decision after two months? Why you have tortured me? Why won’t you tell me how many years I must stay in your Guantánamo?

I have so many questions but I’m sure you don’t have any logical answers for them. I want to say that you did not answer to my questions because you could not, because you don’t have any plan for the future. You are lying to Australian people and playing with Australia’s international reputation.

I know you will never answer my questions. I would like to ask my questions from kind Australian people too, because I want you to think deeply about humanity and imagine the children and women that your government is torturing and humiliating. I ask you while I am experiencing and considering the extreme systematic torture that 2,000 children, women and men are suffering from on these remote islands. I am asking you – the Australian people – to feel your hearts and think by your hearts.

It is a big moment that you should say no to cruelty, should say no to torture, should say no to the Liberal party. This is a big moment that you should vote against those politicians that forget their heart. This is a big moment that you should choose love and say no to inhumanity, should say no to inhuman policies.

**

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Behrouz Bouchani, an Iranian journalist and refugee, continues to work while in detention on Manus Island.

The situation at Australia’s immigration detention centre at Manus Island over the last two months has been extraordinary. After the Papua New Guinea supreme court decision, everything changed drastically and Manus entered an important phase in its violent history.

The PNG supreme court announced in no uncertain terms that the Australian government had transferred asylum seekers to Manus Island by force and has illegally held them in prison for three years. The court determined the existence of the prison to be in breach of PNG law.

The court ordered that “both the Australian and PNG governments shall forthwith take all steps necessary to cease and prevent the continued unconstitutional and illegal detention”. With this explicit and straightforward outcome, asylum seekers and all relevant human rights groups and organisations expected the Australian government to accept the court’s decision and transfer asylum seekers to a safe and dignified location as soon as possible.

However, in contrast to these expectations, the Liberal-National Australian government not only rejected the outcome but also used the ruling as a tool for administering more pressure and suffering on asylum seekers. So much so that asylum seekers in Manus are now willing to tolerate the conditions prior to the supreme court decision.

During the two months since the decision, the pressure on asylum seekers has been increasing day by day and with the introduction of the PNG police, a new player in the saga, the conditions have become militarised and more difficult.

Over the last few weeks, Wilson Security, the company responsible for the safety of the imprisoned asylum seekers have used PNG police to control the asylum seekers in the prison. The new militarised space has given Wilson guards an ideal opportunity to relinquish their responsibilities and allow police officers to exploit the situation to the detriment of asylum seekers.

Over the past week, police arrested and imprisoned an Iranian asylum seeker for two days in the island’s harsh prison; they accused him of attending internet classes without registering. They also arrested and imprisoned two Pakistani asylum seekers in the police station for one night. The two wanted to leave Delta compound to visit their friend in Fox compound, a right they are entitled to as a result of the supreme court decision. The Pakistani asylum seekers rightfully claim they did not commit any crime and only wanted to visit Fox compound. When they realised the entry to Fox was blocked, they requested the guard to open the door and this resulted in the arrest.

The worst I've seen – trauma expert lifts lid on 'atrocity' of Australia's detention regime Read more

Why are police officers arresting asylum seekers so flippantly when they have not committed any crime? When a police officer commits a crime against an asylum seeker they are not held accountable.

In one instance, an Iranian asylum seeker claimed that an Australian guard pushed him and injured his rib cage. Until now, no one has investigated the Australian guard. As a result, the Iranian asylum seeker was forced to threaten suicide in order to gain access to police. In contrast, when PNG police are asked why they do not investigate guards for wrongdoing, they reply that no one has registered a complaint.

And this is the important point. Wilson finds different ways to block asylum seekers from filing complaints with the security company. Asylum seekers with complaints are forced to complain to police. Another example: last January a basketball stand fell on my head. For two months, I wrote letters until my requests for an inquiry reached police. I was unsuccessful in the end because Wilson would not grant me further access to police.

In July 2015, three guards working at the detention centre on Manus allegedly raped a local woman and the company placed them on a plane back to Australia. They did not want the guards to stand trial for rape in a PNG court.

It is not the first time in the last three years that Australian guards have used local police to punish and threaten asylum seekers. During the peaceful hunger strike of January 2015, they used police to punish asylum seekers and imprisoned dozens of asylum seekers without charge, some for weeks.

During the last few weeks, we have witnessed tragic events unfold in the capital Port Moresby. Students protested against the government and were attacked by police. As these events transpired, 17 asylum seekers, who were transferred to Port Moresby hospital due to illness, were caught up in the government crackdown and found themselves in an extremely dangerous situation and without protection. The protests and violent conflict reached the streets near the hotel where they stayed. The asylum seekers could even hear the sounds of police guns firing.

Important questions arise: who is responsible for protecting asylum seekers imprisoned illegally for three years? Are PNG police, who shoot their own people, in any position to care for the wellbeing of asylum seekers? Can Australia place faith in them to protect those for whom they have a duty of care?

Let us recall the role of local police and Australian guards during the events of 17 February 2014. Reza Barati was killed and approximately 100 asylum seekers injured. According to the Australian Senate investigation report, the government was found responsible and is liable for compensation to those injured.

It was also found that G4S could have stopped the attack by local people on the asylum seekers held in the prison. One must ask, what was the role of local police during this incident and why were they unable to stop the attacks on asylum seekers? The Cornall report found that PNG police had stormed the compund, attacking detainees and shooting at them.

The Australian government tries to use local police against asylum seekers for various reasons and local police do not stand up to the practices of Wilson Security.

Manus Island has become extremely militarised in the last two months, and this has arisen due to the blurring of responsibilities. It is unclear who is responsible for the safety of asylum seekers. Clearly, Australia is responsible for every asylum seeker who is injured in this situation. Two months after the PNG supreme court decision, they still ignore the fact that they transferred asylum seekers to the island by force and imprisoned them illegally.

Translated by Omid Tofighian

