Unrest at Australia’s Christmas Island detention centre after refugee’s death | Australia news | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/09/unrest-at-australias-christmas-island-detention-centre-after-refugees-d
Inmates at a notorious detention centre on Australia’s Christmas Island have lit fires amid widespread unrest prompted by the death of an Iranian detainee.
Guards were withdrawn for “safety reasons”, Australia’s immigration department said in a statement. It described the situation as tense but denied the disturbance was a large-scale riot.
The site is one of several offshore detention centres that hold asylum seekers who travelled by boat to Australia. The Christmas Island centre also holds New Zealanders whose Australian visas were cancelled because of criminal records, and who are awaiting deportation.