A candlelight vigil for an Iranian asylum seeker who died on Manus Island will be held at Leura Uniting Church on Saturday, August 12.
Organised by the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group and Leura Uniting Church, the vigil will start at 5pm at the church on the corner of Megalong and Grose Streets, Leura.
Hamed Shamshiripour, a 31-year-old Iranian with a history of mental illness, was found dead on August 7 near the Refugee Transit Centre in East Lorengau. He was the fifth man to die under Australia's supervision on Manus Island.
“Hamed had been sick for a long time. His friends on the island repeatedly asked Australian authorities for him to receive proper mental health treatment in Australia. He should never have been sent to Manus. He should not have died there,” said Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group committee member Brendan Doyle.
“It is now clear that the only way the 2000 men, women and children in the [offshore detention] camps will ever be safe is if Malcolm Turnbull brings them to Australia.”