Iranian refugee to speak at notable literary festival in New Zealand Visa to travel sponsored by Amnesty International Behrouz Boochani, an award-winning journalist from Iran who is known for his work reporting on human rights abuses from Manus Island, has left Papua New Guinea and landed in New Zealand’s Auckland Airport. Boochani’s visa was sponsored by Amnesty International New Zealand, after he was invited to speak at the WORD Christchurch literary festival. Using nothing but a mobile phone, Boochani wrote the book ‘No Friend But The Mountains’, about his harrowing journey to find freedom

“Australian government must end this inhumane system for good” - Kate Schuetze A Queensland Coroner has today ruled that the tragic death of Iranian asylum seeker Hamid Khazaei from an infection acquired in the Manus Island detention centre was “completely preventable”, highlighting severe failings in the healthcare of refugees in offshore detention centres. Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International’s Refugee Researcher, who was present at the Brisbane court today, said: “The Coroner today outlined a litany of errors that lead to Hamid Khazaei’s death in 2014 following his detention in an

New facilities unsafe and do not meet refugees’ basic needs Refugees say they live with constant fear of violence from locals 88% suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder Informal curfew advised to mitigate security risks Australia has used a deliberate system of cruelty to increase the hardship suffered by refugees and asylum-seekers in detention centres on Manus Island, Amnesty International said in a new report today. Following the Australian government’s withdrawal from its detention centre last year, Punishment not protection, documents the demeaning and deeply

Responding to news that an asylum-seeker being treated at a hospital in Papua New Guinea for a serious medical condition has been restrained for three days and is being force-fed by hospital staff after he went on hunger strike, Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher said: “Forcing medical treatment and feeding a patient without his consent, unless it is medically necessary, may violate the right to health and the right to be protected from torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. “He has gone on hunger strike to protest against the poor medical treatment he