SYDNEY – As Australia moves to close its detention center on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island, lawyers are set to file a legal claim for the asylum seekers who want to continue living there.
Food and utilities were set to be shut off Tuesday under a closure agreement between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The 600 detainees are set to be moved to three locations nearby but fear for their safety after threats of violence from locals.
The legal application Papua New Guinea lawyer Ben Lomai is expected to file Tuesday would seek to ensure utilities will still be provided.
An Australian lawyer on the case, Greg Barns, says the claim seeks to ensure detainees "don't have those constitutional rights breached."