Asylum seeker dies after setting himself on fire in West Australia

A CONVICTED sex offender and asylum seeker set himself on fire in a West Australian immigration detention centre and has reportedly died.

Ali Jaffari Karen to ID and check spelling

AN AFGHAN asylum seeker and convicted child molester who set himself on fire in a West Australian immigration detention centre has reportedly died.

The man, believed to be in his late 30s, had burns to 90 per cent of his body after the incident at the Yongah Hill detention centre near Northam overnight. According to ABC, the man died in hospital last night. His name was Ali Jafarri and he was a convicted child molester.

#BREAKING: Man who set himself on fire while in a WA detention centre has died #perthnews

— ABC News Perth (@abcnewsPerth) September 16, 2015

The Afghan asylum seeker managed to obtain petrol and set himself on fire after two previous attempts to take his own life, advocates say.

According to the ABC, Jafarri was granted refugee status but had his permanent protection visa cancelled after being convicted of six counts of an indecent act with a child.

The offence occurred in Geelong after he was released into the community on a protection visa. He also pleaded guilty to accessing child pornography.

In April this year he lost his appeal to stay in Australia but remained in immigration detention because he could not be deported to Afghanistan as he was a refugee.

The immigration department has confirmed the man harmed himself and that he was being treated at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth.

“WA Police are now investigating the matter and it is not appropriate to comment further at this time,” the department said.

The Refugee Action Coalition claim it’s the third time the man has tried to end his own life in six weeks, and say it defies belief that he was able to get petrol.

“How was he allowed to obtain the materials that allowed him to do this?” spokesman Ian Rintoul asked.

“This seems to be an outright incident of negligence or worse.” Mr Rintoul said the man had been held at the detention centre, 90km east of Perth, for about eight months.

“Given his known mental state, he should not have been at Yongah Hill and he should not have been able to obtain flammable fluid.” He said the facility’s operator Serco had questions to answer about its duty of care.

“There’s simply been no adequate mental health treatment or proper care.” Serco declined to comment and referred AAP to the immigration department.

United Voice WA assistant secretary Pat O’Donnell said several guards had been injured in the incident.

A man has died after setting himself on fire at Northam Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre. Pictures: Kerris Berrington

“You can imagine the mental stress and trauma that goes along with dealing with these situations,” Mr O’Donnell said.

“We have major concerns for safety — it puts our members at risk if detainees are able to get hold of banned substances.” He said Serco needed to put more focus on preventing such incidents.

The Greens have called for a review of health and welfare services at Yongah Hill and others across Australia after a young asylum seeker died at the same detention centre in July.

The Refugee Action Coalition said the Afghan man had been held for three years and may have died of a heart attack.

Despite being sick for days and asking for medical assistance, he was only given paracetamol, the group claimed.

Soon after his death, angry detainees staged protests at the centre, which was also the scene of a brawl involving 50 detainees earlier in July.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.