Refugee activists interrupted the Australian Open men’s tennis final, unfurling a banner demanding the closure of the controversial Manus Island immigration detention centre.
With Novak Djokovic leading Andy Murray 4-3 in the second set, protesters walked down to the court wall at the Yarra River end of Rod Laver Arena, draping the banner over sponsors’ logos, with the aim of having it captured by television cameras and broadcast around the world.
The banner read “Australia Open for refugees” with the hashtag #shutdownmanus written underneath. It also carried a recreation of the Australian Open logo.
Two women who jumped on court were arrested, while at least another four people - wearing handmade “Australia Open for Refugees” shirts - were evicted from the match.
Channel Seven refused to show the protest on TV, but thousands of pictures and video clips circulated online.
The match was delayed for five minutes.
The group behind the protest said in a statement: “We have created this international media spectacle today to expose the torture, abuse, and horrific conditions that are being perpetrated on Manus Island”.
“We will not be silent. We are drawing a line with this issue. If we allow this to happen, there is no end to what this government is capable of.”
The Manus Island detention centre has been an especially controversial part of Australia’s offshore detention regime.
Two men died in the centre last year, one man bashed during a riot, and another from a preventable infection, while regular reports detail violence within the centre, including rapes of detainees and the use of solitary confinement to punish those deemed ‘non-compliant’.
Practical issues to do with inadequate health care, detainees being given expired medicines and food and a lack of running water have also dogged the centre.
Currently, there are 1,035 men held on Manus Island. Some have been there since August 2013 and have not had their refugee status determinations made.
