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Australia drops legal action against abused boys | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) is dropping legal action against two boys who were subdued with tear gas at a detention centre. | |
Footage of six boys being gassed at the Don Dale detention centre in 2014 has led to widespread condemnation of conditions for youth detainees. | Footage of six boys being gassed at the Don Dale detention centre in 2014 has led to widespread condemnation of conditions for youth detainees. |
All six are seeking damages for mistreatment, the Australian Broadcast Corp (ABC) reports. | All six are seeking damages for mistreatment, the Australian Broadcast Corp (ABC) reports. |
The NT government had initially said it would bring a counter suit. | |
According to the ABC report, authorities say serious damage, costing A$89,000 ($67,000;£51,000), was caused when the boys escaped from the centre in 2015. | |
One day later, they allegedly stole a car and rammed it into a garage door at the centre, causing another A$74,000 worth of damage. | One day later, they allegedly stole a car and rammed it into a garage door at the centre, causing another A$74,000 worth of damage. |
The boys' lawyer has argued his clients would not have tried to escape were it not for the "poor and restrictive conditions" in which they were held. | The boys' lawyer has argued his clients would not have tried to escape were it not for the "poor and restrictive conditions" in which they were held. |
Footage of the tear gas incident and repeated mistreatment of a boy named Dylan Voller prompted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to order a top-level government inquiry into youth detention in the state. | |
In one incident, Voller was cuffed to a restraint chair while wearing a hood and left alone for over an hour. | In one incident, Voller was cuffed to a restraint chair while wearing a hood and left alone for over an hour. |
Youth detention rates are three times higher in the NT than elsewhere in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. | Youth detention rates are three times higher in the NT than elsewhere in Australia, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. |
Although the institute doesn't break down Indigenous youth incarceration rates specifically for the NT, young Indigenous people across Australia are 26 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous youth. | Although the institute doesn't break down Indigenous youth incarceration rates specifically for the NT, young Indigenous people across Australia are 26 times more likely to be in detention than non-Indigenous youth. |
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