Former Australian judge offers swap with refugee

In an unusual request to Australia’s Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, a retired judge offered to take place of a refugee living in one of the country’s offshore detention facilities on the Pacific island of Nauru and on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Jim Macken, 88, said he requested a “body swap,” as he cannot remain silent over the abuse faced by innocent asylum seekers in the detention camps.

Macken has reportedly written a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor party leader Bill Shorten, requesting them to stop offshore processing of asylum seekers, reports The Guardian. The former judge denied that his move was aimed at seeking publicity, saying that he is willing to swap himself without notifying the public.

In recent times, the Australian government has drawn sharp criticism over its hard-line immigration policies, writes the BBC. Earlier, a trove of leaked incident reports revealed systemic abuse, physical and sexual assaults and self-harm attempts at the detention centers, both of which are run by private companies. Critics have been accusing Australia of condoning migrant abuses as a matter of policy.