Salvation Army response to Manus Island Allegations
1 July 2014
The Salvation Army is aware of reports today a former Salvation Army employee has again been labelled a suspect in the death of asylum seeker Reza Berati.
The Salvation Army has always maintained the Manus Island disturbances are a matter for the relevant local Papua New Guinean (PNG) authorities only to investigate and prosecute, having cooperated openly and transparently with several investigations into the disturbances of February 16 – 18.
If the allegations against the former Salvation Army employee are true, The Salvation Army condemns any such behaviour and insists these criminal actions were not done with the knowledge or authority of The Salvation Army.
At the time of the alleged incident, all Salvation Army staff (both Australian and PNG) had been formally evacuated from the Offshore Processing Centre on advice from security personnel.
To date, The Salvation Army has not been approached by PNG authorities regarding this matter and remains ready, willing and able to be of assistance to their work if they feel it would be of benefit to their investigation.
Download file