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Horrifying footage reveals ‘torture’ of children in detention

The footage obtained by Four Corners shows shocking treatment

Horrifying new footage reveals evidence of children being treated harshly in detention – in scenes that some experts are calling ‘torture’.  

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The footage obtained by ABC’s Four Corners shows the chilling treatment children suffered while at Detention Centres in Darwin.

Dylan Voller, then 17, who was one of six boys tear-gassed at the centre, is shown being strapped to a mechanical restraint chair in 2015 for two hours after he threatened to self-harm in order to be taken to the hospital.

Other footage shows the boy being repeatedly stripped naked and kept in solitary confinement.

In 2014 reports of a riot at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Berrimah, near Darwin made headlines when guards used tear-gas on six boys aged between 14 and 17.

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Guards claimed the boys were attempting to escape their cells. However, CCTV footage shows only one boy had escaped his cell. The boy can be seen using a light fitting to repeatedly smash prison walls and reinforced windows.

The other boys were in their cells in isolation, where they had been for between six and 17 days.

Lawyer Peter O’Brien, representing two of the youths in legal action against the Government, said the the United Nations would classify the treatment as ‘torture’.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has since announced he will establish a royal commission into Northern Territory juvenile detention.

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‘This is a shocking state of affairs and we will move quickly to establish what happened, as Gillian Triggs said last night, this needs a thorough inquiry,’ he said.

View the footage here. Alternatively, watch the episode here

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