"Australian government and G4S settle lawsuit by staffer in Manus Island riots," 2 June 2020

The Australian government and security company G4S have settled a lawsuit brought…by a security officer who claimed he was left with severe psychological injuries after riots at the Manus Island detention facility in 2014 which left one person dead and 77 people injured.

Former Manus Island security officer Grant Potter alleged…his employer G4S, contracted by the government to provide security to the detention facility, failed to provide him and other security staff with safety equipment, training and support…despite escalating tensions at the time due to the Australian government’s strict immigration policy, and provocation of the detainees by Papua New Guinea locals.

When the three days of rioting broke out…a 23-year-old Iranian asylum seeker, Reza Barati, was killed after suffering severe head trauma in the violent clashes. The court heard on Monday that Potter was the one who drove him to hospital, but Barati had died en route.