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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

A Canberra vigil for Hamid Kehazaei

Hamid Kehazaei. Photograph: Refugee Action Coalition

A public candle-light vigil will be held during peak-hour on Monday September 8 on the corner of Northbourne Ave and Barry Drive, for the life of Hamid Kehazaei, the 24 year old Iranian asylum seeker who was declared brain dead after failing to receive treatment at Manus Island Detention Centre.

Hamid had reportedly asked for medical treatment for a cut on his foot for days, but his requests were unanswered, and he was told that he would have to wait. The infection spread from his foot, and by the time he was medivacced from Manus Island to Brisbane, he was suffering severe septicaemia.

Although he was immediately admitted to intensive care, Mr Kehazaei’s family was informed that he was brain dead on Tuesday, by the Immigration Department and the hospital.

This incident has directed public concern towards the conditions inside Australia’s Detention Centres.

“This is a case of shocking neglect,” says Dr John Minns of the Canberra Refugee Action Committee.

“The conditions on Manus Island would not be tolerated in even the worst prison in Australia. Infection and illness is widespread. These people are being treated like animals. How many deaths and how much misery has to be inflicted before the government closes this horrific place once and for all?”

The vigil will take place at 5pm on Monday at the busy intersection of Northbourne Ave and Barry Dr to attract attention to this issue.

[Photo: Hamid Kehazaei via Refugee Action Coalition]

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