The Australian Government has agreed to a $53 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of asylum seekers who were detained in harsh and dangerous living conditions on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.
The 1,905 current and former asylum seekers will receive a share of the settlement, which amounts to 70 million Australian dollars plus legal costs, according to Slater and Gordon, the law firm who represented the refugees. The detention center in Papua New Guinea was ruled “illegal and unconstitutional” by the PNG Supreme Court in April 2016. However, the detention center is still currently housed by nearly 900 men, but it is scheduled to shut down in October of this year, The Guardian reported.
“Most were fleeing religious persecution and violence and came to Australia seeking protection, only to be denied their basic human rights,” Andrew Baker, Slater and Gordon principal lawyer said. “While no amount of money could fully recognize the terrible conditions the detainees endured, we hope today’s settlement can begin to provide them with an opportunity to help put this dark chapter of their lives behind them.” Mr. Baker called the settlement one of the largest ever in an Australian human rights lawsuit.
According to the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, the settlement was not an admission of liability and the government “strongly refutes and denies the claims made in these proceedings.” In his statement, he explains that the lawsuit’s outcome was best for the Australian taxpayers.”An anticipated six-month legal battle for this case would have cost tens of millions of dollars in legal fees alone, with an unknown outcome. In such circumstances a settlement was considered a prudent outcome for Australian taxpayers,” he said. He further says that even though the lawsuit reached a settlement, it is still subject to approval by the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Australia has detained thousands of asylum seekers since 2012. They were stopped at sea while trying to reach Australia in offshore detention camps on Manus and the Pacific island of Nauru, according to the New York Times. The government claims that the policy is meant to deter human traffickers from sending desperate people to Australia on rickety boats, the Times said.
“The people are very happy because it’s the first time they smell a little bit of justice from Australia,” Iranian journalist and refugee Behrouz Boochani told the Guardian. “I’m saying only a little bit because we still don’t know how they are planning to pay the compensation. The government has kept people in this prison for four years and must answer to the people it has damaged physically and mentally.” And despite the class action settlement, Boochani told the Guardian that the future of the 900 left on Manus Island remained uncertain.
The settlement was reached on the ground that the Australian government denied all liability for the mistreatment and false imprisonment of people on Manus Island.
The lead plaintiff in the case was Christian Majid Kamasaee, a 35-year-old Iranian who fled his homeland to escape violent religious persecution the Guardian reported. He said that the settlement was a long-overdue acknowledgment of the unnecessary suffering endured by refugees on Manus Island.
“This case is not just about me, it is about every person who has been trapped on Manus Island,” Kamasaee said.
