Australia has no access to men in Papua New Guinea immigration prison

Papua New Guinean immigration prison released six prisoners and will soon send them home. However, Australia has no access to the 47 remaining men inside the prison, according to senates estimates as reported by foreign media. Michael Pezzullo who is the head of the home affairs department of Australia dismissed proposals that there is a new border crisis which involves the people arriving by air and claiming asylum. Many of whom are exploited by well-ordered offences and illegal labour-hire firms. 

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No visibility of what happens inside the prison

Major General Craig Furini, head of Australia's offshore processing regime stated that there are six men who have been released from the Bomana immigration detention centre. He added that as per his understanding, these men have been released on the basis of possibly a voluntary returns package. Furini then went on to say that they have no knowledge of the state of the immigration prison where the remaining 47 men are living. There are no Australian officers over there and they do not know if the men have any access to communication. He said that they have no visibility of what happens inside the prison where these men are. He then told the parliament that he does not even have an idea if any of the released prisoners are among the 10 detainees that were already approved for medevac transfers to the country at the time of their arrest over two months ago. 

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Lawyers claim phones were removed

Pezzullo and Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram informed the Senate estimates that no Australian was present at the Bomana facility even though they paid for the construction of it. The lawyers of the asylum seekers stated that the phones of these men have been taken away to which Pezzullo said he will check and get back with an answer. He added that how these people were held and whether their phones were removed or there was no internet access is a matter of PNG. Furini also said that they have no sight of what goes on over there. 

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(With inputs from agencies)