STATEMENTS
25 June 2024
Australian senate enquiry into the wrongful detention of Australians overseas
Australian Wrongful and Arbitrary Detention Alliance members are very excited to announce that we have been successful in our efforts to see the establishment of an Australian Senate enquiry into the wrongful detention of Australian citizens overseas, including ‘hostage diplomacy.’
The enquiry will look into how Australia identifies and manages cases of wrongful detention, support for families, repatriation and post-detention care, and Australia’s broader policies toward states which engage in 'hostage diplomacy,' including deterrence and disincentivisation.
To view the enquiry’s terms of reference or to make a submission see: here
The deadline for submissions is 30th August 2024.
If you are a victim of wrongful detention and would like advice or assistance with making a submission please do not hesitate to reach out via AWADA’s contact form.
15 June 2024
The visit of chinese premier li qiang to australia
AWADA urges Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong not to forget the plight of Australian citizens wrongfully detained in China and Hong Kong when they welcome Premier Li to Australia this week.
Australian academic, writer and businessman Dr Yang Hengjun has been detained in China since 2019. In February 2024 Dr Yang received a two-year suspended death sentence in a closed-door trial which Australian consular staff were prevented from attending. It is vital that the Australian government communicate to Premier Li that Australia will under no circumstances tolerate the execution of one of our citizens, and that if Yang’s sentence should be carried out there would be serious consequences for the bilateral relationship between our two countries.
We similarly urge the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to raise the case of Gordon Ng, an Australian citizen who has been convicted in Hong Kong for supporting the pro-democracy movement in the China-controlled territory. As Gordon awaits sentencing, we trust that Australian officials will make clear to both Beijing and the Hong Kong government that Australia is taking a keen interest in his case.
AWADA members call for the unconditional release of both men.
7 April 2024
The 3rd anniversary of Robert Pether’s wrongful detention in Iraq
AWADA members would like to express their grave concern for the welfare of Australian engineer Robert Pether, who has reached the grim milestone of three years of wrongful detention in Iraq.
For Robert, these have been three long years of psychological and physical deprivation, and three long years of painful isolation from his loving wife and three children.
No innocent person should have to suffer the torment of having their liberty taken from them, and no family should be put through the unbearable trauma of forced estrangement.
AWADA members urge the Government of Iraq to accept the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has determined that Robert is arbitrarily detained.
We call on the Australian, Irish and Iraqi governments to do all that they can to secure Robert Pether’s freedom.
