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Trial witness threatened

Monday 28 September 2015 | Published in Regional

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Main witness fears for life in trial of accused killers of asylum seeker

LORENGAU – The trial of two Papua New Guinea men accused of killing an Iranian asylum seeker on Manus Island has been adjourned because the main witness says his life is in danger.

Witness Benham Satah told the PNG National Court he had been threatened since giving a statement about seeing his roommate Reza Barati killed in a disturbance at the centre on February 17, 2014.

PNG men Joshua Kaluvia and Louie Efi are charged with wilful murder over Barati’s death, both have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

But Satah told the court the men were not the only ones involved, and that others responsible were still working at the Australian-run regional processing centre.

“I am a target for them because I became a witness,” he said. “There was not just the two locals, there was expats as well.

“I have to go back to the compound and my life will be in danger.”

Satah, who is also an Iranian asylum seeker, told the court he needed protection if he was to testify against Kaluvia and Efi.

“I’ve already been threatened many times before,” he said.

The attackers have been described by witnesses as a group of men, largely security personnel working for the company G4S.

Police told the court they have been unable to get two of those men, two expatriate workers, back to PNG, despite witness reports involving them in the attack.

Kaluvia and Efi were both workers at the Australian-run detention centre on Manus Island at the time of the attack.

Kaluvia, who was a Salvation Army worker at the detention centre, is alleged to have hit Barati in the head with a stick.

Efi, who worked as a security guard, is alleged to have dropped a rock on Barati’s head.

Medical evidence presented in court said Barati died from a severe brain injury, a result of being hit in the head several times with severe force.

Police gave evidence that they had seized the phone records of Kaluvia and said the text messages give a partial admission to the crime.

The trial has been adjourned while prosecutors, police and detention centre staff discuss how to provide protection for Satah.

The immigration detention centre on Manus Island is part of Australia’s policy of processing asylum claims offshore to discourage dangerous boat journeys to the Australian mainland.

Since the policy was announced two years ago, boat arrivals have dramatically decreased. Several dozen asylum seekers on Manus Island have been granted refugee status but none have been resettled permanently in PNG. A further 1000 male asylum seekers remain in immigration detention on Manus Island.