Last night’s Four Corners report into the abuse and mistreatment of young men in juvenile detention in the Northern Territory shocked the entire nation, and the fallout has been swift: John Elferink has been sacked from his role as Corrections Minister (he still holds other portfolios) and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ordered a Royal Commission into the horrific abuse at the Indigenous youth custody.
It’s obviously not enough, but it’s a start.
Now Dylan Voller, the 19-year-old teen whose abuse was detailed in the Four Corners report and will now become part of the Royal Commission, has penned an open letter to thank all Australians for their compassionate response, and to the Four Corners team in particular for bringing this issue to light.
Posted by his lawyer Peter O’Brien on Twitter, Voller wrote:
“I would just like to thank the whole Australian community for the support you have showed us a boys (sic) as well as our families. I would also like to take this opportunity to apologise to the community for my wrongs and I can’t wait to get out and make up for them.”
He also thanked the ABC, Four Corners, his lawyers and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency among others, for “all the help in getting the truth out there to the public”, and his family for “all the support through the hard times”.
Dylan Voller has instructed us to release this letter: pic.twitter.com/yJoZHoAgJn
— Peter O’Brien (@OBrienSolicitor) July 26, 2016
The ABC documented a timeline of the horrific abuse Voller has endured since age 13, when he was held up by his neck and thrown into a cell at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. (The officer was charged but not found guilty of assault, and later had his contract renewed.)
The years that follow are dotted with other violent incidents, including multiple incidences of being grabbed round the neck and forcibly stripped naked, being tear-gassed in 2014 after another inmate “ran amok”, and being strapped to a chair for two hours age 17.
Turnbull has promised to get to the bottom of these events via the Royal Commission, but many – including his lawyer – are worried changes won’t happen quickly enough.
Three of the guards from #DonDale are now working at the Darwin Correctional Centre where Dylan is being held. He’s scared for his safety.
— Peter O’Brien (@OBrienSolicitor) July 26, 2016
O’Brien is seeking Voller’s immediate release from detention.
Source: Twitter.
Photo: ABC.
