Iran refugee detained by Australian authorities wins Australia's top literature award
Boochani wrote the book on his mobile under detention
A refugee, who is in the detention of Australian authority from last six years for trying to enter Australia through sea route, has won Australia’s top literature award ‘Victorian Prize for literature’ for his book ‘No friends but the mountains’ which he wrote on his mobile phone.
As an Iranian citizen who tried to enter Australia seeking asylum, Behrouz Boochani, has been held in an Australian-run up camp on a Papua New Guinea island. Behrouz has time and again criticized the Australian immigration policy and the treatment people are being given in the run-up camps.
Boochani, wrote the book on his mobile phone in his native language Farsi, and sent it to a translator in Australia for translation in English. Boochani used to write and send one chapter at a time for translation.
“I don’t want to celebrate this achievement while I still see many innocent people suffering around me,” Boochani was quoted as saying by Reuters through WhatsApp conversation.
Boochani said one of his biggest fears when he was writing the book was that his telephone would be confiscated by camp guards.
“I was worried that if they attacked my room they would take my property,” he further told Reuters.
The award was announced on Thursday in an official ceremony in Australia, where Boochani is restricted from ever entering.
The recipient of this award is awarded with A$100,000 ($72,400).
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Kerala: Court imposes 41-year jail term on man for sexual assault of minor
Kozhikode (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 41 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor boy near Valayam in 2021.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court judge K Naushad Ali sentenced 64-year-old Panchara Musa, also known as Ganapathiyat Musa, under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), according to special public prosecutor Manoj Aroor.
As the sentences are to run concurrently, the convict will have to serve the highest term of 20 years’ imprisonment, SPP Aroor said. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 52,000 on Musa.
The incident took place in August 2021 when the accused allegedly took the 14-year-old boy to a bus stop in Valayam town and sexually assaulted him, the prosecutor said. The accused also gave Rs 50 to the boy, he added.
Following the incident, the boy and his father lodged a complaint at the Valayam police station.
A case under various provisions of the POCSO Act and the IPC was registered, and the accused was subsequently arrested, the SPP said.
The prosecution examined 16 witnesses and submitted 16 documents to substantiate its case against the accused, he added.
