Need more evidence how dysfunctional and undemocratic is the relationship between Serco and the Australian government?
Detainees who protested on the roof of a Sydney detention centre this week have been put in maximum security isolation as punishment, a refugee advocate says.
Nine Chinese nationals, including five men and four women, one of whom is two months pregnant, climbed on to the roof of the Villawood centre on Wednesday morning.
One of them came down at 4pm on Thursday and the rest followed about six hours later.
Another 11 asylum seekers ended a 30-hour protest on the roof on Tuesday night.
Justice Action Network spokesman Jamal Daoud says he believes all but one of the rooftop protesters are now in maximum security compounds.
“All of them are in Stage One at the moment, except the pregnant woman – she was taken to hospital last night,” said Mr Daoud, who has been in regular contact with detainees.
“They usually put someone in there for punishment…. They are in isolation, they are not allowed to go outside the room.”
Serco, the company that runs the centre, declined to comment on the asylum seekers’ situation and told AAP all inquiries should be referred to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC).
A DIAC spokesman refused to comment on where the protesters were housed, saying it was a matter for Serco.
“As far as where they’re housed, that’s a matter for Serco and their ongoing management of the centre,” he said.