Canberra - A group of 43 detainees at one of Australia's controversial centres for illegal immigrants continued a hunger strike yesterday, with seven of them reported to have sewn their lips together.
The detainees were protesting against Australia's policy of detaining all asylum-seekers who arrive in the country illegally, often in remote outback camps, while their refugee applications are processed, which can take months or even years. An Immigration Department spokeswoman said about 19 of the group held at the isolated Curtin centre in Derby in the state of Western Australia - which houses up to 900 people - had refused food for 17 days.
