On Saturday, 24-year-old Sudanese refugee Faysal Ishak Ahmed died in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Ahmed suffered a collapse in the Manus Island detention centre, which resulted in him being airlifted to Australia for urgent treatment. Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul stated that Ahmed had made numerous complaints to staff because of a lack of treatment.
In response to Ahmed’s death, asylum seekers on Manus Island rioted, taking control of two compounds and expelling guards from the detention centre. Senior Sergeant Thomas Lelepo told Reuters that order had been restored on Sunday.
In related news, a refugee held at the Nauru detention centre, identified as ‘Yusuf’, told The Guardian that he has been denied necessary medical treatment after suffering a heart attack. After presenting at the Nauru hospital needing treatment for which the hospital lacked the facilities, IHMS approved his transfer to Papua New Guinea, but over one month later he has still not been transferred.