20 February: On Monday, three people escaped from the detention centre on Nauru. They were were later found by police and returned to detention.
Refugee advocates say four detainees at the Nauru detention centre have resorted to stitching their lips together in protest. The Refugee Action Coalition says more than a dozen detainees have joined a hunger strike, with four asylum seekers stitching their lips together.
The escapees and those on hunger strike are from among the most recent group of arrivals on Nauru, from Iran.
Refugee Action Coalition spokesperson, Nick Reimer, says people are feeling increasingly desperate about their plight.
“They’re protesting against their treatment… they’re protesting against the fact they’re on Nauru at all while other asylum seekers who arrived around the same time are free in the Australian community,” he told Radio Australia.
“And the fact they’re facing an indefinite amount of time on Nauru without any certainty about what their eventual fate will be.”
DISACCORDS 