Helen Davidson says; He had previously gone 53 days without eating and had lost 23kg as a protest against his ongoing detention and treatment. On Friday evening he was admitted to Darwin hospital for treatment to cellulitis in his foot. The man has been in a wheelchair after mosquito and midge bites became badly infected several weeks ago and advocates said it had not been adequately treated. While the man had been on antibiotics, he had not been given pain medication for a number of days as he had not been eating. He has since been given pain relief intravenously, Guardian Australia has been told, but is still very weak, and there are fears he will not survive. The man’s lawyer, John Lawrence, told Guardian Australia doctors wanted to keep him in hospital for five days of antibiotic treatment and observation. Lawrence said his client was constantly in pain when he had seen him over recent weeks, but the stronger medication from the hospital on Friday prompted an immediate improvement in his mental state. However by Sunday “he had deteriorated quite a bit, he got a lot weaker which I think is down to the hunger strike”, said Lawrence. Hospital staff have been given a copy of the man’s advanced personal plan – a living will-type document which outlines a person’s decisions, future health, financial and lifestyle preferences should they lose decision-making capabilities – which includes a request for palliative care only. Advertisement Lawrence said the advanced personal plan was formalised as a “pre-emptive” action in anticipation of forced feeding. Lawrence last week told Guardian Australia his client was demonstrating on behalf of other asylum seekers from Iran and Sri Lanka believed to be in the same “legal black hole”. His client’s application process has been protracted, Lawrence said. After two rejections of an application for refugee status – the second making redundant a successful appeal of the first – the man is now in legal limbo as he refuses to return home and Iran will not take involuntary returns. An application has been filed with the federal court for a judicial review of the second rejection, but the man has little hope of success. “He is of the view this protest will not be successful in obtaining freedom, justice, a protection visa or even release into the community, but he still chooses to make this final protest as to how he is being treated,” Lawrence said.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 10:34:33 +0000
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