BISHOP William Morris of Toowoomba has questioned whether aspects of Australia’s detention of asylum seekers amount to torture.
He was making a statement as acting chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) in an appeal on June 26 for prayer and action to stop torture.
The statement coincided with the International Day in Support of Survivors of Torture, and challenged Australians to ask: How well have we as a nation welcomed and supported survivors of torture?
“In immigration detention centres around Australia there are desperate people who have arrived seeking asylum,” Bishop Morris said.
“Some of them are labelled ‘illegals’, even though they are exercising their right under international humanitarian law to seek asylum without necessarily having a visa.
“But at certain stages in their processing, asylum seekers in detention are not allowed to contact their families and often don’t know whether they are dead or alive.
“In some immigration detention centres observations and musters involve waking asylum seekers at night or shining torches on them while they are sleeping,” he said.
