A 16-year-old Pakistani asylum seeker has slashed his arms at a Brisbane immigration centre in a bid to prevent his return to Nauru, according to a witness.
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The boy was at the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation complex after being treated for kidney stones.
The witness, who asked not to be named, said the boy slashed his arms in a bathroom 20 minutes after being told he would be returned to the offshore detention centre at Nauru.
"Ambulance services carried out a young man on a stretcher who did not appear to be conscious," said the witness. "He was surrounded by a lot of blood."
It is understood the boy was transferred to the Brisbane facility for treatment in June and was due to be transported back to Nauru on August 13.
A spokeswoman for the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection would not confirm or comment on the incident, because it was an act of self harm.
“For privacy reasons, it is not appropriate to comment on individual cases,” the spokeswoman said.
She said asylum seekers are transferred back to Australia for medical reasons and then returned to offshore processing centres once the treatment is complete.
“From time to time, it is necessary for people located at offshore processing centres to be transferred to Australia for medical reasons, when medical services required by the individual are not available at the location.
“Once medical treatment is completed transferees are returned to the offshore processing centres subject to advice from the department’s health services provider, International Health and Medical Services."
A spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, Ian Rintoul, initially informed Fairfax Media of the incident.
“It is an extreme statement that the conditions on Nauru are so bad that a 16-year-old boy is driven to so seriously self harm rather than be sent back there,” he said.
