Journalist and author Behrouz Boochani has been granted a visa after seven years in detention
After securing a temporary visa to fly to New Zealand in November 2019 as a guest at a writers’ festival, Boochani lodged a claim for protection on arrival and now the Kurdish-Iranian exile has had his refugee status formally recognised by that country. He has been granted a one-year work visa which will enable him to apply for permanent residency and should eventually provide a pathway to citizenship.
Boochani was persecuted for his reporting and his support of Kurdish rights in his homeland of Iran, and fled for Australia in 2013. He arrived on Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean by boat on 23 July 2013 but was forcibly transferred to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and detained. During his time on that island, Boochani was tortured and also jailed for reporting on a hunger strike which was quashed by force. He and other detainees eventually received financial compensation for their unlawful detention and treatment at the now shuttered holding facility.
While on Manus Island, Boochani continued his journalism work and was well-known for his advocacy on behalf of the detainees in Australia’s offshore processing regime. He was awarded Australia’s richest literary prize for his book ‘No Friend But The Mountains’ in January 2019.
