History
An earlier incarnation of today's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, the Villawood Migrant Hostel, was opened in 1976. Its main functions at the time were to assist in the transition of, and provide temporary housing to, migrants whose application for immigration to Australia was approved.
In 2001 it was the subject of controversy when 40 asylum seekers escaped. A month later, a Four Corners documentary, "The Inside Story", revealed the plight of six-year-old Iranian refugee Shayan Bedraie, who had been refusing to speak or eat. Shayan and his family had been detained at Woomera IRPC for 11 months and Villawood IDC for at least 6 months, and had witnessed a number of riots and self-harm incidents. He was periodically taken to hospital to be drip-fed and rehydrated, and then returned to detention.
As of 20 October 2004, the centre accommodated 551 people. This number comprised 405 adult men, 105 adult women and 41 children.
In January 2008, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) said the high-security section of Villawood Detention Centre was the "most prison like" of all Australia's immigration detention centres, and demanded it be closed immediately. The HREOC described the infrastructure as dilapidated, and conditions inside the detention centre as "harsh and inhospitable".
In December 2010, a 29 year old British man wanted for a number of criminal offences in the UK, and was due to be deported, was believed to have committed suicide at Villawood IDC. His death was the third suicide at the Villawood centre since September 2010
Early in the morning of Thursday 21st April 2011, the centre was set alight by detainees.
Read more about this topic: Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
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