At least two Manus Island refugees collapsed as Papua New Guinea authorities entered their shuttered detention center on November 23.
Around 50 PNG police and immigration officers entered the facility on Thursday morning and gave the men an ultimatum to leave, News Australia reported. Around 40 men were “forcibly moved onto buses” to move them to alternative accommodation, the outlet reported.
During the operation, one of the men collapsed and had a seizure, according to a refugee in the center. Another man was seen lying on the ground, being attended to by other men.
This footage was shared by Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist and refugees based on the island. He was arrested and later released during the operation.
In a tweet following his release, he alleged that he was handcuffed for more than two hours and pushed by the police. He also said the police commander “yelled” at him for reporting “against” them. In another tweet he said police “beat up some of the refugees and forced them to the new prison camp in East Lorengau, Hillside Haus and West Haus.”
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the men on Manus Island should obey the authorities of Papua New Guinea, adding that Australia would not be pressured to take the men or change its border protection policies by the standoff. Credit: Twitter/Behrouz Boochani
