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Australian Navy accused of beating and burning asylum seekers

Acting PM Warren Truss has defended the Australian Navy over claims asylum seekers were beaten and told to hold on to parts of a hot engine on a boat being towed back to Indonesia. ABC News has obtained video footage of asylum seekers receiving medical assessments of burns that Indonesian police say were inflicted by the Australian Navy. The Federal Government denies the claims, but Indonesian police say they had to get treatment for 10 asylum seekers, seven of whom had severe burns on their hands after they were picked up in Indonesian waters on January 6. The claims of physical abuse come amid warnings that Australia risks sea-going clashes with Indonesia over asylum policy, and the admission that Australian ships have entered Indonesian waters without permission.

Navy burns: the government's obligation to investigate

The Abbott government has reacted indignantly to allegations by Sudanese asylum seeker Yousif Ibrahim Fasher that asylum seekers were mistreated and had their hands deliberately burnt by Australian Navy…

Australia rejects claims that navy mistreated asylum seekers

By Matt Siegel SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Wednesday rejected claims by a group of asylum seekers that they were beaten and suffered burns while being returned to Indonesia by the Australian navy under a policy that has strained ties between the countries. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Tuesday aired video of asylum seekers getting treatment for burns they said were caused by navy personnel forcing them to hold onto hot pipes coming out of their boat's engine while it was being towed back to Indonesian waters. "The Australian government is not going to put up with people sledging (verbally abusing) the Australian navy," he told reporters in Sydney. "I've been given assurances about their conduct and I believe those assurances because I believe in those individuals." Indonesian police confirmed that a group of asylum seekers had required treatment for severe burns on their hands after they were picked up in Indonesian waters on January 6.

Asylum seeker burns allegations baseless, Tony Abbott says

'Do you believe Australian naval personnel or do you believe people who were attempting to break Australian law?' says prime minister

With Navy's record of abuse, asylum boat claims can't be ignored

Prime minister Tony Abbott’s three-word slogan “stop the boats” may be meeting its promise. Last Friday, Abbott was “very pleased” to point out that it was the “50th day without an illegal boat arriving…

Investigation: 'burned hands' on the high seas

It's nearly a month since serious 'burned hands' allegations were first made by asylum seekers against Australian naval personnel. Big questions remain. Indonesia correspondent Michael Bachelard has conducted a detailed investigation into the asylum seekers claims.

ABC head Mark Scott admits mistakes over report claiming navy inflicted asylum seeker burns

The ABC has bowed to pressure from the Abbott government and media rivals by admitting it gave too much credence to claims asylum seekers had suffered burns because of treatment by the navy.

ABC admits fault in reporting asylum seeker allegations

The ABC has admitted the wording in its initial reporting of asylum seekers’ claims that the Australian Navy mistreated them should have been “more precise” and conceded it could have been misleading…

Asylum Seekers Accuse Australian Navy of Abuse

On New Year's day, 45 asylum seekers in a ramshackle wooden boat slid ashore on a small island off the Australian city of Darwin. Four others had

Defence investigates Ballarat abuse claims

An Australian Defence Force Investigative Service team has boarded HMAS Ballarat to probe allegations of sexual assaults on young male sailors.

Abuse investigators board HMAS Ballarat

An Australian Defence Force Investigative Service team has boarded HMAS Ballarat to probe allegations of se...

Comment: The government's obligation to investigate navy burns

The Abbott government has reacted indignantly to allegations by Sudanese asylum seeker Yousif Ibrahim Fasher that asylum seekers were mistreated and had their hands deliberately burnt by Australian Navy personnel.

Immigration detention in Australia

A new chapter in Australia's shameful history of cruel offshore detention

Refugees accuse Australian navy of abuse

Asylum seekers, whose boat sank off Australian shores early January, accuse navy of not lending them a hand.

Australia: By hook or by crook - Australia's abuse of asylum-seekers at sea

Operation Sovereign Borders is Australia’s military-led border control operation. In operations called turnbacks, Australian officials intercept boats of asylum-seekers and prevent them from landing in Australia. This report examines the legality and human rights impact of Operation Sovereign Border turnbacks, based on testimonies from people who had been on board boats that Australian officials intercepted […]

Navy personnel tell of trauma of seeing asylum seekers die at sea

Sailors who served on border protection operations describe the horrendous task of retrieving dead asylum seekers and of coping with sick and distressed children in squalid conditions.

ABC Issues Classic Non-Apology On Navy Abuse Claims

"We regret if our reporting led anyone to mistakenly assume that the ABC supported the asylum seekers’ claims."

Australia rejects claims that navy mistreated asylum seekers

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