Through his father Mahommad Saeed Badraie, Shayan Badraie is suing the Immigration Department and two detention centre operators in a case which could open the way for other inmates to claim compensation from the government.
Lawyer Rebecca Gilsenan said the case before the New South Wales Supreme Court, which will argue the government failed to provide adequate care to Shayan while he was in custody, was the first of its kind.
Shayan and his family arrived in Australia by boat in 2000 and were placed in the Woomera immigration detention centre in South Australia’s desert.
In 2001 the boy was hospitalised eight times, and after 17 months in detention had stopped eating, drinking and speaking, according to reports.
Medical evidence is expected to be produced in court to show Shayan was traumatised by what he experienced while in detention.
Woomera inmates staged violent protests in 2000 and Shayan, who was five at the time, witnessed suicide attempts, rioting and the use of tear gas and watercannons against detainees.
Shayan’s family say that as a result of his detention at Woomera and later at a centre in Sydney, he suffered chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and disturbed conduct, The Australian newspaper reported.
Lawyers will argue that Shayan was kept in detention despite pyschiatric advice he was at risk.
“The case will seek to hold the government and detention centre operators accountable for the harm caused to Shayan by his detention and traumatic events he witnessed in the centres,” Gilsenan told AFP.
Australia’s conservative government came under strong criticism for its policy of mandatory detention for asylum-seekers, including children, and was forced to soften its policy earlier this year to stem a backbench revolt.
The Badraie family, which includes a daughter born in detention in 2000, was granted temporary protection visas in August 2002. These visas have now expired and they are applying for new ones which would allow them to remain in Australia.
