Yongah Hill fears. A tipster tells us that the mood has taken a turn for the worse at Yongah Hill Detention Centre in Northam in Western Australia, where earlier this year detainees protested against at the amount of time it was taking to process their refugee requests. Earlier this year it was reported that asylum seekers were scared of the convicted criminals who were also sharing the compound, and it appears the arrangement is still causing distress, as “many asylum seekers are scared of ex prisoner detainees. They were kept in different compounds but shared common areas such as for meals. But now they’ve been told the compounds will be mixed.” Our tipster also said that the centre is setting aside an area for solitary confiement and there are “Fears that someone — most likely an asylum seeker — will get seriously harmed in detention.” We asked the Department of Immigration if there were plans for solitary confinement at the centre, and were told:
“The Department can advise that new infrastructure is being provided to the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre in the form of a Behavioural Management Unit (BMU). BMUs are located at the majority of Immigration Detention Centres around Australia and will enable better care and support for detainees requiring high care arrangements. BMUs are used for detainees who are risk to themselves, other detainees and staff.”
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