Australia: Two asylum hunger strikers in hospital

from Stuff:

CANBERRA: Two asylum seekers who stitched their lips shut as part of a hunger strike at an Australian immigration detention centre have been taken to hospital, refugee groups said on Tuesday as negotiators tried to end the protest.

The detainees are part of a group of 27 Iranian men - six of whom have stitched their mouths up - held at the remote Baxter detention centre in South Australia state, who are rejecting food to protest against Canberra's refusal to grant them sanctuary.

One lobby group, The Alliance of Health Professionals for Asylum Seekers, described Baxter on Tuesday as "a de facto psychiatric hospital without adequate treatment or monitoring" and called for an independent medical review of the centre.

"The fact that some individuals have exhausted avenues of legal appeal is no justification for inhumane treatment and sub-standard medical care," Alliance convenor Louise Newman said in a statement.

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Professional Alliance for the Health of Asylum Seekers and their Children