One of the men accused of murdering the asylum seeker Reza Barati at the Manus Island detention centre has been recaptured by Papua New Guinea police after a brazen escape.
Joshua Kaluvia was one of two men charged with the death of Iranian man Barati, who was killed during a wave of unrest at the detention centre in February 2014.
But he evaded custody in late March, in an escape that PNG police said was not disclosed to them by prison officers until a week later.
In a brief statement Papua New Guinea police superintendent Dominic Kakas said on Sunday: “Joshua Kaluvia, the man convicted of killing Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati, has been recaptured by police. Kaluvia escaped from prison on March 28.
“More/full information will be released later.”
The statement itself has raised further questions, as Kaluvia’s trial appears to be continuing and he has not been convicted yet.
Kaluvia and another Papua New Guinea man accused of Barati’s death have persistently said they are innocent and allege they have been set up to take the fall for his murder.
The men have said that some expatriate guards were also involved in Barati’s death, who have never been brought to trial.
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