Group connected to Freedom Flotilla held and ‘denied access to a lawyer’ after fleeing Indonesia
A group of West Papuans who went into hiding in fear for their lives after taking part in the West Papua Freedom Flotilla have been deported to Papua New Guinea after seeking asylum in Australia.
Seven West Papuans, including a woman and a 10-year-old child, landed on Boigu Island in the Torres Strait, just 6km from PNG a on Tuesday night. On Thursday night they were deported to PNG, according to Ronny Kareni, a West Papuan refugee living in Melbourne who spoke to the group on Friday morning.
“They are very distressed and scared,” he told Guardian Australia on Friday morning.