A Manus Island asylum seeker who went on hunger strike for more than 20 days has been tied to a hospital bed and intravenously fed.
The 42-year-old Iranian man was tubed in a Papua New Guinea hospital after refusing to eat in protest of ‘poor medical treatment’ on the island.
Hospital staff held such grave fears for his survival they sought court permission to force nutrients into his body, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The 42-year-old Iranian man (pictured) was reportedly tubed in a Papua New Guinea hospital after refusing to eat in protest of ‘poor medical treatment’
A nurse said if the man wasn’t transferred to Australia for medical treatment soon, he would likely die in Port Moresby, the island’s capital city.
‘We are concerned for his life,’ the nurse said on Friday.
‘What’s next? How can we keep someone who’s not eating?’
Amnesty International said force-feeding the man without consent was a violation of his right to be protected from ‘cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment’.
Fellow asylum seeker and journalist, Behrouz Boochani, shared the confronting photo to social media on Friday.
Manus Island’s new accommodation arranged for 600 asylum seekers formerly detained on Manus Island (pictured is the East Lorengau Transit Refugee Centre)
The Lorengau accommodation is a stark contrast to the Manus Island facility (pictured)
‘A refugee in Port Moresby hospital has been on hunger strike for 20 days. He has high blood pressure and diabetes and the doctors have forced him to eat by getting authority from the court,’ his post read.
In the photo, the man lays bound to a hospital bed by large white bandaging in three sections, while several tubes poke out from his left arm.
A staff member confirmed he had been intravenously administered food after refusing sustenance, but was only tied down while being fed.
He has been receiving treatment at Pacific International Hospital for more than a month, with staff saying describing him as a ‘lovely’ patient before the hunger strike.
Nurses noted a sudden ‘mood change’ in the man after a few weeks, after which he began removing tubes and refusing to eat.
Fellow asylum seeker and journalist, Behrouz Boochani, shared the confronting photo to social media on Friday
Trashed rooms, rubbish strewn everywhere and crumbling infrastructure can be seen in old photographs taken at the Manus Island detention centre (pictured)
Mr Boochani said the asylum seeker had extensive medical problems, including a leg injury, since arriving on Christmas Island in July 2013.
The journalist was on the same boat as the man and was sent on the same plane to the Manus Island detention centre in August that year.
He said his friend was protesting out of frustration at the system and the lack of adequate medical treatment he had received.
Having been well liked among the community, Mr Boochani said his dire emotional state had been exacerbated given he was also being held in isolation.
A staff member at the hospital revealed on Saturday afternoon the asylum seeker had started eating again.