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| -Short Attention Span Theater- | |
| Detainee swallows razor blades | |
| 2007-09-12 | |
| A CHINESE man due to be deported to face serious criminal charges at home is in a Sydney hospital after swallowing razor blades. The man, known as Mr Qi, has been held in detention since his visa was revoked in February 2004, when Chinese authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. He had been due to be deported to China today to face charges of kidnap and murder, after the Federal Government was given an undertaking from Beijing that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.
Mr Qi had swallowed razor blades last night inside Villawood detention centre, he said. "He would rather die here than go back," Mr Rintoul said. "The deportation's off today but how much longer it's off I don't know. It might stall things for a little while." Mr Qi had previously been on suicide watch at Villawood, Mr Rintoul said. In parliament, Human Services Minister Chris Ellison at first declined to answer directly when asked by Australian Democrats senator Andrew Bartlett if Mr Qi had been taken to hospital after attempting self-harm. But a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews later confirmed the episode. "(The razor blades) have been successfully removed at the hospital today," she said. "The Australian Government intends to have him removed from Australia as soon as he is assessed as fit to fly." Refugee advocates are considering taking out an injunction to block Mr Qi from being sent back to China, where they fear he could be executed. Asylum Seeker Resource Centre co-ordinator Pamela Curr said yesterday she was concerned that Mr Qi was being sent home on the basis of dubious documentation. She feared the man named on the unsigned and undated Chinese arrest warrant was not actually Mr Qi, citing insufficient identity checking. The United Nations has asked the Government to postpone the deportation pending further investigations. | |
| Posted by:Delphi |
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| Posted by: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton 2007-09-12 19:42 |
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| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2007-09-12 19:00 |
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| Posted by: BigEd 2007-09-12 18:46 |
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| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2007-09-12 18:18 |