African Asylum Seekers Accuse Australian Navy of Physical Abuse

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Asylum seekers from Africa are accusing Australian Navy personnel of torture on Wednesday. Their charges were corroborated by Hidayat, the Indonesian police chief, and backed by photos of the injuries.

They said the Navy men ordered them to hold hot parts of the boat engine on the asylum boat that was towed back to Rote Island from near Darwin on Jan 6.

One man had burn on his hands and others have bruises on their legs and injured foot. Abdullah Ahmed from Eritrea said he was kicked on the left thigh. Bashka Ibrahim Nooris and Ahmed Ali Noor from Somalia recalled they were ordered to place their hands on the boat's muffler which was hot.

Hidayat, the police chief of Rote, said he saw burn injuries on their palm, which appears to confirm the story of the asylum seekers whose boat sailed in late December from Kupang, West Timore, to Darwin.

Upon reaching a small island near Darwin, the engine broke down, prompting them to seek help from the United Nations. Two Australian Navy vessels, the HMAS Parramatta and HMAS Glenelg, picked them up and had them board the Navy ships. But Mr Youfif claimed they were beaten by the Navy personnel while on board.

He also said that the asylum seekers were told they would be brought to Christmas Island but were instead returned to Rote, saying they were misled by their rescuers.

In response to the accusation, acting Australian Prime Minister Warren Truss doubted if the Navy personnel indeed burned the hands of the asylum seekers.

"You have seen a picture of a burn but the people who are making these claims ... clearly have a particular interest in these sorts of issues," quoted The Sydney Morning Herald.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison added, "The Government rejects any allegation of inappropriate behaviour by our navy or customs and border protection personnel in the conduct of their duties as part of Operation Sovereign Border."

He said further, "Smugglers and their clients have strong motivation for seeking to discredit the activities of Australia's border protection operations in an attempt to seek to undermine public support for the Government's strong border policies."