Friday October 16, 2015
The federal government is attempting to deport the woman, known as Abyan, back to the Nauru detention centre.
The Somali refugee who says she was raped on Nauru and asked for an urgent abortion in Australia is being returned to the island, with claims she denied treatment when it was offered.The government is attempting to deport the woman, known as Abyan, back to Nauru. Her lawyers on Friday were working to prevent her return to the tiny Pacific nation.Abyan was flown to Brisbane last Sunday and then to the Villawood detention centre this week so she could have an abortion in Sydney. Earlier this week she thanked the Australian government for responding to her request but a source told Fairfax Media that when Abyan was taken to her appointment for pre-assessment on Thursday, she refused medical care.
But her lawyer George Newhouse from Shine Lawyers denied this and said she was simply insisting on seeing counsellors.
"She was waiting on our instructions to give her our assessment before she went ahead," he said.
"We have asked for her to see counsellors and doctors we recommend so she can give her informed consent."
Mr Newhouse had instructed his client to refer all her medical matters to her lawyers.
The legal tactics may backfire if the government succeeds in deporting her back to Nauru where abortions are illegal, without Abyan having had the termination she was pleading for.
The 23-year-old is thought to be between 14 to 15 weeks pregnant. Mr Newhouse first raised Abyan's plight after receiving no response from the government to his urgent requests for his client to be allowed to come to Australia to have an abortion.
An online petition amassed more than 60,000 signatures and her case was even taken up by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten – despite the Labor Party's bipartisan support for harsh border protection policies aimed at stopping the boats.
Abyan is one of two Somali refugees who say they were raped on Nauru. Nauruan police have closed the second case and say there is no evidence a rape occurred. In a breach of the alleged victim's privacy, the Australian based PR firm acting for the Nauruan government published her name and intimate details of her case.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said one week ago that asylum seekers and refugees requiring care not available on Nauru would be brought to the mainland but warned they should not attempt to seek permanent resettlement in Australia.