fires lit at immigration detention centre

AAP
November 17, 2010, 3:36 pm

One man is hurt after immigration detainees set fires at Sydney's Villawood Detention Centre a day after an inmate committed suicide there.

Live footage from a helicopter, broadcast on Network Ten late on Wednesday afternoon, showed detainees piling objects onto one of two spot fires burning outside buildings at the western Sydney detention centre.

Immigration department spokesman Sandi Logan told AAP: "Apparently, there has been a mattress set alight".

Detainees also threw chairs and garbage bins onto the fire, Ten reported.

The ABC said three detainees had taken to the roof in protest.

Police, fire and ambulance crews are at the centre and at least one police helicopter is monitoring the situation from the air.

NSW Ambulance told AAP a man in his 40s has been treated for unknown injuries.

Ahmad Al Akabi, a 41-year-old father of three young daughters, committed suicide at the centre on Tuesday. He had been held in detention for more than a year.

His death followed that of Josefa Rauluni, a 36-year-old Fijian detainee, at Villawood in September.

Refugee rights activists say 160 detainees began a hunger strike on Tuesday morning and around 22 Iranian nationals continued their strike into Wednesday.

Mr Logan rejected suggestions inmates were on a hunger strike.

"There are, we understand, a handful who, out of respect and part of their grieving process, have opted not to eat," Mr Logan told AAP earlier.

"But there is no hunger strike and there certainly are not 160 or 140 or 100 or 50, or even 20, who have taken that step in the grieving process. Without any equivocation, there is no hunger strike on."

Jamal Daoud, of the Social Justice Network, was outside Villawood when inmates began their fiery protest on Wednesday afternoon.

He said scores of police were at the scene and the centre had been put into lockdown with detainees escorted to their rooms.

"They are more angry now because they locked the detainees inside of their rooms at the moment," Mr Daoud told AAP.

At least four detainees had taken to the roof in protest, he said.

"One of the guys on the roof was living with the guy who committed suicide and he's very angry at the moment ...

"And the roof is damaged because they knocked off some of the tiles."

Mr Daoud said there had been three spot fires but all of them had burnt out by 6pm (AEDT).

His organisation and members of the Iraqi community were staging a vigil outside Villawood, mourning Mr Akabi's death, when the destruction started.

He said a number of religious and community leaders were expected at the vigil.