Suit to be filed by 23 Indonesian minors against Australian govt
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Group seeks apology, money after 'kids locked up with adults'
Twenty three Indonesian minors are preparing to file a civil suit against the Australian government for locking them up in adult prisons, where they allegedly suffered abuse.
Badriyah Fayumi, chairperson of the Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI), a government-sanctioned body, said that in the suit, the plaintiffs want the Australian government to apologise for their treatment and pay compensation to them in the form of insurance for education and employment.
The KPAI accuses the Australian government of violating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“There are a lot of awful things that these children experienced at the penitentiaries, which could have caused them psychological damage, as they were forced to spend months with criminals and sexual abusers,” she told reporters.
The KPAI also accuses the Australian authorities of incorrectly assessing the age of the minors. “The Australian authorities, who wrongly assessed the age of the children, should be responsible for the damage they caused by ensuring that these kids still have bright futures,” it said.
A report from the Australian Human Rights Commission released in July last year showed there were at least 180 Indonesians, who claimed to be children, detained in Australia for their alleged roles in people-smuggling between 2008 and 2011.
The data showed that 48 of the young people were minors, who allegedly had their age wrongly assessed, which resulted in them being locked up with adult inmates.
The Australian government was said to use wrist X-ray techniques to determine the age of the detainees.
“The X-ray technique fails to factor in the child’s nutritional conditions and race. Therefore, the technique should not be used to assess people’s age,” said Apong Herlina, deputy head of the KPAI.
She said the Australian government should also clear the names of the children.
One of lawyers for the minors, Lisa Hiariej, said the 23 minors had returned to their homes in East Nusa Tenggara last year, but some of them were currently leading unstable lives.
“The children come from the country’s poorest areas, most of them had no choice but to work as fishermen. The incident has severely traumatised them,” she said.
She said that two of the minors who were released last December had to deal with sexual harassment and verbal abuse during their time in prison, which had affected them psychologically.
A team of lawyers, along with the KPAI, is preparing legal documents to file the lawsuit, she added.
