Australian-bound refugees driven to suicide on Nauru: rights group Amnesty

By Colin Packham and Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia on Tuesday rejected claims by rights group Amnesty International that conditions on a tiny South Pacific island where some 400 Australian-bound asylum seekers are held "amount to torture". In a detailed report titled Island of Despair, Amnesty alleged that many of the asylum seekers on Nauru are being driven to attempt suicide to escape the prison-like conditions they face in indefinite detention. Under Australia's tough immigration policy, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat are sent for processing at a camp in Nauru or to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and are not eligible for resettlement in Australia.

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