Findings were delivered today in the coronial inquest into the death of 23-year-old refugee Omid Masoumali who was held in offshore detention in Nauru. Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan found that almost three years without any prospect of safe resettlement had led Omid to despair and frustration. The Coroner called for the Australian Government to provide certainty and expeditious resettlement for the people who still remain in Nauru.
Omid self-immolated in Nauru in April 2016. The Coroner found that medical facilities in Nauru were incapable of treating serious burns as the level of care was well below that available in rural Australia. The inquest heard evidence from burns specialists who considered Omid would have almost certainly survived if he was treated in a major Australian hospital. The Coroner found that the Australian Government had known since at least 2014 that the medical facilities in Nauru could not care for someone with injuries as severe as Omid suffered. The Coroner also found that a request from Omid to see a psychologist was not adequately triaged, which was a missed opportunity to intervene before the incident.
The Coroner found that Omid and his partner, Pari*, were facing considerable uncertainty about their future, and there was no clear end to the time that they would be forced to stay in Nauru. The Coroner found that Omid’s actions were those of someone who had given up hope and felt powerless about his position. The Coroner recommended that greater certainty and faster resettlement should be provided to refugees in Nauru.
Omid’s partner witnessed his immense suffering and lost the man she described as her soulmate. She was represented in the inquest by Maurice Blackburn with support from the Human Rights Law Centre.
The Federal Government continues to hold refugees and people seeking safety in Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Over the past eight years, 14 people in the Australian Government’s care have lost their lives in offshore detention.
Louis Baigent, Associate at Maurice Blackburn said:
“While the purpose of this inquest was to investigate the circumstances of Omid’s death, the evidence has highlighted some major shortcomings in the health care services and resources available to refugees held on Nauru. It became clear during the course of this inquest that the care which was made available to Omid was below even the most basic Australian standards.
“This inquest has also shone a light on the crippling psychological effects felt by those who are subjected to offshore processing on Nauru with no insight into how long they will remain there.
“It’s hard to fathom the extent of the despair that Omid was suffering to take the drastic actions that he did. Yet the most tragic aspect of the situation is that there was an opportunity for mental health workers to intervene before he took those actions. Omid’s request to see a psychologist was a cry for help which sadly did not come.
“These events have had an immeasurable impact on Pari, and will continue to do so. While nothing can reverse the loss that she has suffered, I would hope that these findings bring about positive change for the future.”
David Burke, Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre said:
“Omid and Pari were a young couple with their whole lives ahead of them. Throughout the hard times, he would remind her of all the things they had to look forward to in life together – children, friends and freedom. But after three years living in limbo in Nauru, this future was taken from them both.
“The Australian Government’s choice to send Omid to be locked up in Nauru meant that he was thousands of kilometres away from the critical medical care he needed to treat his devastating injuries. The Australian Government knew the risk of detaining people in Nauru and was told long before Omid’s death that the medical facilities there could not treat someone with severe injuries. Omid could have survived his injuries if he had not been sent to Nauru.
“Omid’s death is a devastating reminder of the how the Australian Government’s policy of offshore detention is designed to break people. As we hear the Coroner’s findings, the Morrison Government continues to hold 231 women and men indefinitely in Nauru and PNG. People are still suffering from the same hopelessness, the same uncertainty that Omid and his partner suffered. Today the Coroner called for these people to be resettled quickly. The Morrison Government must end offshore detention immediately and bring people to safety.”
* Not her real name
