A local person employed by the Salvation Army has been accused of being a key assailant in the attack that led to the death of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati, staff employed at the Manus Island detention centre have said.

''Everyone knows who attacked him and is surprised no one has been taken into custody,'' a well-placed source said.

The Salvation Army has denied the allegation.

A spokesman for Papua New Guinea police confirmed on Sunday that no one had been taken into custody since Mr Berati's death a fortnight ago.

Sources on Manus Island said cleaning staff had scrubbed clean the detention centre, including the area where Mr Berati died, the morning after the fatal violence on February 17. There are concerns this could compromise a forensic investigation into his death.

Bullet casings and bullet holes at human height in the centre's walls were also found, staff who work at the centre said.

It now appears the attack that led to Mr Barati's death, and injuries to more than 60 asylum seekers, was an orchestrated response to a rolling protest that involved asylum seekers chanting ''F--k PNG'' and baring their buttocks.

An account pieced together from interviews with staff asserts that the lights were turned off in the area where the asylum seekers were injured soon before local police and locals employed by security contractor G4S and the Salvation Army entered the centre.

This account of Mr Barati's death is consistent with one told by relatives, who have spoken to a cousin who witnessed the attack.

It says Mr Barati was in the computer room when the violence began, returned to what he hoped would be the safety of his room, and then was attacked, allegedly by a local person employed by the Salvation Army. Mr Berati died after repeated blows to the head, most likely with a piece of timber, a PNG autopsy found last week.

Tension was also fanned by a chaotic handover of contracting work at the detention centre, from G4S and the Salvation Army to Transfield Services, sources said.

A spokesman for the Salvation Army said it had investigated claims that one of its employees was responsible for Mr Berati's death. ''We found absolutely no evidence that it occurred,'' he said.

After a visit to Papua New Guinea, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said Australia and PNG would work to ''synthesise'' the various reviews into Mr Berati's death.

Mr Morrison said he hoped that integrating the Australian government's independent administrative review, the PNG police investigation and the coronial inquiry would give a clear statement of the facts.

The review by former public servant Robert Cornall will be done in partnership with, and with the participation of, the PNG government.

Australia and PNG will also hold a monthly joint ministerial forum to oversee the implementation of the regional resettlement agreement signed by the two countries last year.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/charity-worker-killed-reza-barati-says-insider-20...

Here's me thinking the Salvo's had chaged policy and got into doing a bit of 'wet work'.   


What an inciteful post, well worth the five minutes I wasted

BigOl64 wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2014 at 6:29am:


Greens_Loser seems to be becoming more unhinged by the day...

progressiveslol wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2014 at 6:33am:



Australians Greens are not the government of Indonesia.

Try again

This time about the blood of Reaz Berati on Abbott's hands.

cods wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2014 at 7:08am:


Why did the Labor Party reopen Manus? Oh yeah - the Greens pressured them into trying onshore processing. What an appalling decision that was. Instead of a few boats a week, it was a few boats a day under onshore processing and the lawyers had a field day, costing taxpayers even more money! That was an abysmal disaster in every aspect.

cods wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2014 at 7:08am:



Labor is not in government. When they were, Greens and there supporters critcised them.

The blood on hands are on Abbott and his supporters. You have blood on your hands.

Shame cods, Shame.

____ wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2014 at 7:15am:


Hardly. The boats had stopped under Howard. Just a few people remained in detention at the 07 election. Rudd made this issue a problem again when he scrapped the pacific Solution. Rudd & Gillard have the blood on their hands. Abbott and Morrison are simply trying to clean up after Labor's mess.