Monday, September 21, 2015

Australia Manus Island riot: Detainee murder trial to begin

People places flowers and cards next to the portrait of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati during a candlelight vigil in support of asylum seekers.Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionA riot on Manus Island last year saw scores injured and Iranian Reza Barati killed
Two men face trial over the death of a detainee at the Manus Island detention centre on Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Monday's trial on the island comes more than 18 months after Iranian Reza Barati, 23, was killed in a riot at the Australian-run centre in February 2014.
Scores of people were injured in the riot, including one who was shot and another who was blinded in one eye.
PNG men Salvation Army worker Joshua Kaluvia and camp guard Louie Efi have been charged with Mr Barati's murder.
Australia sends asylum seekers arriving by boat to offshore camps in PNG and the Pacific nation of Nauru for detention and processing.
Conditions in these camps have been strongly criticised by UN agencies and rights groups.

Several attackers

An Australian government report released in May 2014 concluded Mr Barati was "attacked by a number of people".
It said also one of the witnesses to the attack was afraid to report it to PNG Police.
Mr Kaluvia told media he and Mr Efi would be convicted "so that nobody else, no Australians or New Zealanders who are responsible, have to face justice".
"We have to take the blame for them because we are PNG," he told the Guardian Australia.
Detention tents on Manus IslandImage copyrightGetty Images
Image captionThe UN has criticised conditions in Australia's offshore detention centres
A senate committee report that last year examined the events that led up to the outbreak of violence at the camp found that the riot was "eminently foreseeable" and could have been prevented if the asylum seekers had been on a "clear pathway" for assessing their refugee claims.
Security provider G4S Australia, which was managing the centre at the time, had noted in daily reports that there was heightened tension, saying some detainees had prepared weapons.
In 2013, the centre was transformed from a mixed facility into one housing single adult males.
It also saw a "massive influx" of new asylum seekers, resulting in the centre housing more than double its intended capacity.
"It is clear from evidence presented to the committee that the Australian Government failed in its duty to protect asylum seekers including Mr Barati from harm," the report stated.
Map of Manus in relation to Australia

Australia and asylum

  • Asylum seekers - mainly from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq and Iran - travelled to Australia's Christmas Island by boat from Indonesia
  • The number of boats rose sharply in 2012 and early 2013. Scores of people died making the journey
  • To stop the influx, the government adopted hard-line measures intended as a deterrent
  • Everyone who arrives by boat is now detained and processed in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Those found to be refugees will be resettled in PNG, Nauru or Cambodia

Media caption'It was like a horror film,' says an eye-witness of the 2014 Manus riots

Asia New Zealand zoo killer tiger 'will not be put down'

     
  • From the sectionAsia
Oz the tiger at Hamilton Zoo (2006)Image copyrightGetty Images
Image captionOz is one of five tigers at Hamilton Zoo and part of a breeding programme
A tiger which killed its keeper at a New Zealand zoo on Sunday will not be put down, say officials.
Samantha Kudeweh, 43 and a senior staff member, was killed by Hamilton Zoo's male Sumatran tiger called Oz.
No details have been released of how the incident happened, but city officials said on Monday there was "no reason" to euthanise Oz.
Lance Vervoort said he was "a significant animal for his species" and vital to the breeding programme.
Samantha Kudeweh, Hamilton Zoo CuratorImage copyrightHamilton Zoo
Image captionMs Kudeweh's family said she was a "passionate conservationist"
"Although there is an inherent risk for zoo professionals who manage big cats like Oz, there is no wider ongoing risk," said Mr Vervoort a Hamilton City Council, general manager.
"This is our call, and the decision on Oz rested solely with us."
Ms Kudeweh, a mother of two who was married to another zoo professional, had more than 20 years experience working in zoos, and was second-in-charge at Hamilton Zoo.
Her family described her as a "passionate conservationist".
Sign of Hamilton Zoo, New Zealand (20 Sept 2015)Image copyrightAP
Image captionThe zoo has not yet said whether Oz will go back on show to the public when they re-open later this week
Several investigations are under way at the zoo, and officials have not confirmed whether Ms Kudeweh was authorised to be in the enclosure with Oz.
But Mr Vervoort said the widely held view was that Oz had acted in line with his natural instincts.
He said the team was still coming to terms with the incident, and thanked "the zoo industry worldwide" for its support.
Hamilton Zoo will remain closed until Thursday. Officials have not said whether Oz will go back on show to the public with the zoo's four other tigers.