A ‘litany of mistakes’

[imagecaption] Vigil for Hamid Khazaei, Manus Island, 2014. Response to Australia-wide ‘Light the Dark’ Vigils for Hamid.  [/imagecaption]

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Hamid Khazaei was a 24 year old man from Iran who was transferred from Christmas Island to Manus Island in September 2013. A year later he was dead from septicaemia after a foot injury became infected while he was detained in the Manus prison. His mother described him as a ‘sensitive, harmless, lovable‘ son. His family were devastated by his death.

A timeline of the days leading to Hamid Khazaei’s death highlights his rapid deterioration during the time between his first presentation and when he was finally evacuated. As a consequence of Hamid being transferred to a hospital in Brisbane before his death, an investigation in the Queensland Coroners Court is in process. The inquest focused on the fatal delays to medical treatment, exposed the political pressure not to transfer sick refugees to Australia for treatment and highlighted how broken equipment and a ‘litany of mistakes’ on Manus diminished Hamid’s chances of survival. Just a month before Hamid’s death,  a young Yamatji woman, Ms Dhu, died of the same treatable infection while held in custody in Western Australia. Following Hamid’s death, in an act of solidarity, ISJA offered his family an Aboriginal passport.