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Detainees at a high-security detention centre in Melbourne's north say they are concerned for the welfare of a severely mentally unwell Canadian woman who has been locked up in the facility. The 64-year-old woman is understood to be suffering from serious mental health problems. Detainees have been told the woman has dementia, but it's unclear whether she has been formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist. The woman is being kept in a room with a blacked-out window at MITA North, a high-security compound at the Melbourne Immigration Transit Accommodation centre in Broadmeadows. As well as asylum seekers, MITA North is home to people awaiting deportation after having their visas cancelled on character grounds, including for criminal convictions, and links to outlaw motorcycle gangs and organised crime. Ali Yousef, an asylum seeker whose room is opposite the woman - who is being kept in the behavioural management unit - said she had been separated from other detainees for about a week. Mr Yousef said he was distressed by the woman's incarceration and concerned for her welfare, after being told by a guard she suffered from dementia. He filmed the woman in her room, and posted the recording to social media. "I feel helpless," he told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. "I feel like I want to scream and cry at the same time." The video shows the woman standing alone at a window in an empty room in a demountable building, fluffy white hair framing her face, staring at the men filming her from the room opposite. Since the distressing video was posted to Facebook, guards have blacked out the window in the woman's room, so no one can see in and she cannot see out. A spokesman for Australian Border Force did not say why the woman is being kept at the high-security facility, instead of hospital or a mental health facility, citing privacy concerns. Australian Lawyers' Alliance spokesman Greg Barns said the woman's treatment was further endangering her mental health. "The law in Australia is very clear," Mr Barns said. "The Australian government has a duty of care to all persons it detains in immigration detention to ensure they have a reasonable standard of care. In cases where a person is severely mentally unwell, they should be cared for in a hospital setting or in a community setting where they can receive appropriate care. "To continue to house a person in what is effectively a jail-like facility and which is effectively solitary confinement is a clear breach of that duty of care." It's understood the woman came to Australia as a tourist four or five years ago, but for the past few years has been issued a series of temporary visas. The woman, who needs a high level of care, is understood to have severe behavioural issues and was at risk of homelessness before being taken into detention. It's not clear whether she has family support, either here or in Canada. Australian Border Force is aware of the woman's complex mental health problems, but it is not clear whether she has received a formal diagnosis from a psychiatrist. The Border Force spokesman said the department would not comment on individual detention arrangements or potential removal operations. "All individuals in immigration detention receive appropriate medical care, including mental health support." Concerns have been raised with the Commonwealth Ombudsman about the case, although the Ombudsman's office says no formal complaint has been lodged. Do you know more? Email b.hall@theage.com.au

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