To:
The Government of Australia
The Australian Department of Home Affairs
The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs
The Australian Human Rights Commission
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Torture, Health, and the Human Rights of Migrants
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Subject:

Urgent Intervention to Save the Life of Iranian Refugee Hatam Yekta and Hold Australia Accountable for Ongoing Human Rights Violations

We, the undersigned, express our profound alarm and outrage regarding the critical medical condition of Iranian refugee Hatam Yekta, a survivor of Australia's offshore detention regime who remains trapped in Papua New Guinea after more than a decade of displacement, detention, and severe neglect.

Recent reports indicate that Mr. Yekta's physical and mental health has deteriorated to an alarming and potentially life-threatening degree. He has reportedly lost nearly half of his body weight, is barely able to communicate, suffers from severe physical and psychological illness, and is allegedly refusing medication while lacking the capacity to make informed decisions regarding his medical treatment.

These reports create an immediate and urgent duty to act.

Australia's Legal Responsibility
The Australian Government cannot disclaim responsibility for Mr. Yekta's condition.

Australia established, funded, administered, and maintained the offshore detention system on Manus Island and transferred asylum seekers there under its migration policies. International law is clear that a state cannot evade its human rights obligations by transferring vulnerable individuals to another territory while maintaining effective control over their fate and legal status.

Australia remains responsible under:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 3 and 5)
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 6 and 7)
The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 12)
The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Customary international human rights law.
The prolonged detention and abandonment of refugees on Manus Island have repeatedly been condemned by:

United Nations experts,
Human rights organizations,
Medical associations,
Independent investigators,
Australian and international courts.
The severe and foreseeable deterioration of Mr. Yekta's health cannot be viewed as an isolated tragedy. It is the direct and predictable consequence of a system that has been repeatedly criticized for causing profound psychological and physical harm.

A Pattern of Harm
The suffering of Hatam Yekta exists within a broader history of preventable suffering and deaths connected to the Manus Island regime.

The deaths of:

Reza Barati, killed during violence inside the detention centre in 2014;
Hamid Kehazaei, who died following delays in medical treatment;
Faysal Ishak Ahmed;
Hamed Shamshiripour;
Rajeev Rajendran;
and numerous other incidents of self-harm, attempted suicide, untreated illness, and psychological collapse demonstrate a persistent pattern of systemic failure.

International medical experts have repeatedly warned that prolonged and indefinite detention creates catastrophic consequences for mental health and may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

No further deaths should be added to this tragic list.

Human Rights Emergency
If reports regarding Mr. Yekta's condition are accurate, there are serious concerns that:

His right to life is at immediate risk;
He is being denied adequate and timely healthcare;
He may lack the capacity to provide informed consent regarding medical decisions;
Continued inaction may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment;
Australia is failing to meet its international obligations toward an individual whose suffering arose directly from its offshore detention policies.
Every hour of delay increases the risk of irreversible harm or death.

Our Demands
We urgently call upon the Australian Government to:

1. Immediately arrange the medical evacuation and transfer of Hatam Yekta to a facility capable of providing comprehensive specialist treatment.
2. Ensure independent medical assessments by physicians chosen without political interference.
3. Guarantee immediate access to appropriate physical and psychiatric care.
4. Provide legal representation and independent advocacy to protect his rights and welfare.
5. Conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances that led to his current condition.
6. Publicly disclose what actions have been taken regarding his medical care.
7. Establish a pathway toward a durable and humane solution for Mr. Yekta and other refugees who remain stranded in Papua New Guinea.
To the International Community

8. Emergency Humanitarian Processing of Hatam Yekta's Refugee Case
Given Mr. Yekta's critical and rapidly deteriorating medical condition, we urgently call upon the Australian Department of Home Affairs to immediately review his case under any available humanitarian, compassionate, or exceptional circumstances provisions and to expedite the processing of his refugee and resettlement case without delay.

No person should be left to die while trapped in administrative limbo.

The Australian Government has both a moral and legal obligation to act before another preventable death occurs as a consequence of the offshore detention regime.

Every day of inaction places Mr. Yekta's life at greater risk. We therefore demand immediate intervention, emergency consideration of his case, and the use of all available exceptional powers to protect his life and dignity.

Before another human life is lost, Australia must act.

We call upon:

The United Nations;
Human rights organizations;
Medical associations;
Members of Parliament;
Journalists;
Civil society organizations;
Human rights defenders around the world;
to urgently intervene and monitor this case.

Silence and inaction in the face of foreseeable suffering create moral and legal responsibility.

Final Appeal
Hatam Yekta is not merely a case file, an immigration number, or a political inconvenience.

He is a human being.

He has spent more than a decade trapped in a system that countless observers have described as destructive and inhumane. His rapidly deteriorating condition demands immediate action.

The world has already witnessed too many preventable tragedies arising from the offshore detention regime.

We must not allow another life to be lost through delay, neglect, or indifference.

We therefore demand immediate action to protect the life, dignity, and fundamental human rights of Hatam Yekta and call upon Australia to fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities without further delay.

Justice delayed may become justice denied. In this case, delay may cost a human life.