By james art Former wrongful detainees speak out about their trauma behind bars and what support they needed on release as the Australian government acknowledges shortcomings.
Canadian Michael Corwig was detained for more than 1,000 days in China as Beijing demanded his government release Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada.
Mr Kovrig said he was also placed in solitary confinement for more than five months and subjected to measures that “amount to psychological torture” as he gave evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into how Australia could better manage such cases.
“The intention is to punish, to cause pain and suffering to individuals so that the government feels some kind of suffering and gets the message that they have done something wrong,” he said on Monday.
China is using “human beings as a bargaining chip to force” other countries to take what it considers unfavorable actions, Mr. Kovrig said.
The former detainee recommended a special diplomatic role in the federal government to deal with wrongful detention.
Justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators are the next steps, he said, proposing increased penalties for kidnappers to deter wrongful detention, including fines, financial penalties, legal action and travel bans.
American families have received medical care and psychological support during their loved ones’ detention, said Roger Carstens, the US president’s special envoy for hostage issues.
Letters were also written to creditors or the tax office to compensate for financial stress, he said.
His evidence contrasted with the experiences of former wrongfully detained Australian detainees, with Kylie Moore-Gilbert – who was jailed in Iran on trumped-up espionage charges – previously telling the inquiry of a lack of support.
Dr Moore-Gilbert said she had received no medical or psychological help since her return.
Other ex-prisoners had access to just four psychological sessions and their families received little help, the investigation found.
Department of Foreign Affairs consular officer Paula Ganley acknowledged shortcomings, including properly directing returned Australians to local support services.
“Obviously we haven’t been as clear as we should have been,” she said.
Specialized support outside the department’s remit was often required for complex cases, so groups like Hostage International were turned to, she said.
Australia was not targeting hostage diplomacy, where countries would want to bring in prisoners to force the federal government to make a concession, she said.
Having a citizen wrongfully detained has not softened public reprimands against certain countries or halted sanctions against individuals, she added.