"Reza Barati’s parents sue Australia over son’s murder on Manus", 26 Jul 2021

The parents of asylum seeker Reza Barati are suing the Australian government over his murder in an Australian-run offshore detention centre.

The 23-year-old Iranian was beaten to death by guards and other workers during a violent confrontation at the Manus Island detention centre in 2014.

His parents, Ita Torab Barati and Farideh Baralak, have filed a civil claim in the Victorian supreme court seeking exemplary damages from the commonwealth and the security contractor G4S Australia for wrongful death and mental harm. They claim the government’s negligence, and that of G4S Australia, were to blame for their son’s murder.

It is understood to be the first time a case has been filed in Australian courts on behalf of someone who has died in offshore detention...

According to court documents, Barati was returning to his room on 17 February after gunshots were fired into his compound, when a local detention centre worker in a G4S uniform hit him from behind with a length of timber spiked with nails.

Barati fell and was surrounded by up to 10 men, who kicked him in the head.

Two men, Joshua Kaluvia and Louie Efi, were convicted of his murder and jailed for 10 years by Papua New Guinea’s national court...

“The Australian government and the security operator G4S failed in their duty of care to the people in offshore detention. It was their job to make sure staff were properly trained and the centre was properly equipped to deal with any outbreaks of violence.” [declared the Head of Maurice Blackburn social justice practice]...