Indonesian kids in Australian jails

Indonesia Institute
Indonesia Institute Inc.
(The Indonesia Institute is a Western Australia-based and internationally recognized non-government organization established to represent Australian and Indonesian social, cultural, political and community interests.
It acts as an effective and responsible lobby group to government and facilitates networking opportunities for those interested in Indonesia-Australia affairs.

Media Release

Indonesian kids in Australian jails
Claims of sexual abuse of Indo minors 'inevitable'

Claims by two Indonesian minors that they were sexually abused whilst in Australian adult prisons should not surprise Australian authorities according to an Australian advocacy group who has been demanding the release of child 'people smugglers' for over three years.

The WA-based Indonesia Institute said today that in the past few years many young Indonesian children had been incarcerated in maximum security adult prisons in Australia, often without trial, for periods of up to two years.

"We have been very concerned for a long time, that if young Indonesian boys were placed in adult prisons alongside convicted criminals - including rapists and pedophiles - these kids would be in a highly vulnerable situation," said Mr. Taylor, who is the institute's chairman.

Mr. Taylor said that because these children were not classified as minors by the federal authorities, the state correction services usually placed them alongside adult prisoners without any segregation.

In 2011 a Medical GP working within the prisons system spoke publicly and expressed his concerns that convicted pedophiles and other criminals with sex-crime convictions had access to young Indonesian boys within the prisons system. No action was taken following those claims.

Mr. Taylor said that in Western Australia, where in late 2010 almost 150 Indonesian prisoners were being held, a number of Indonesian minors were placed alongside adult criminals in either Hakea or Albany maximum security prisons.

"Our institute wrote to the WA Attorney General in 2010 raising concerns about these kids", said Mr. Taylor, "but the then Attorney-General Christian Porter denied there were any Indonesian children in WA jails."

Since that time at least 25 minors have been identified as being incorrectly held in WA adult jails and belatedly some of the children were released by the courts or under instructions from the federal authorities.

"What is disturbing is that if not for the support of the media and human rights groups, many of these children would still be locked-up in Australian adult jails beside hardened and dangerous criminals" Said Mr. Taylor. "Our government has been in denial about this issue for far too long and sadly for some of these Indonesian kids, action to get them out of adult prisons here and sent home has come too late".

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