Protesters have spent the night on the roof of Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre in a demonstration sparked by the death of a Fijian detainee yesterday.
36-year-old Josefa Rauluni died yesterday, after writing a letter to the Immigration Department that he wanted to remain in Australia.
He was expected to be deported to Fiji yesterday.
Late yesterday afternoon three men climbed onto the roof of the detention centre and were later joined by another eight men.
They are still there and said they will not come down until the Australian Immigration Department agrees to an independent review of their applications for asylum.
Temperatures reached a low of about 9 degrees Celsius in Villawood overnight.
The Department of Immigration said the men have blankets and have been offered food and water.
Human rights activist Sara Nathan has been in contact with the protestors throughout the night and said the men are calm but determined to stay.
Specialist negotiators are now trying to get a number of the asylum seekers off the roof.
The Refugee Action Coalition’s Ian Rintoul told the ABC that nine of the protesters are Tamils and a member of the Sri Lankan community had been allowed inside Villawood to talk to the protesters.
The ABC reported that the Immigration Department is hoping that the protest will end soon.
Police in New South Wales are investigating Rauluni’s death.
Story by: Vijay Narayan
