2 Nov 2005

Australia retains two Iraqis in Nauru detention centre, cites security risks

5:18 pm on 2 November 2005

Two Iraqi men remain in an Australian-run detention camp on Nauru.

This comes after the other 25 remaining asylum seekers, who had been held on Nauru for four years after being caught trying to enter Australia illegally, were flown to Australia overnight.

The 25 men - from Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq - have been allowed into Australia on temporary visas after Canberra had earlier decided that their applications had failed and that they would be banned entry.

Australian authorities have deemed the two men left in the Nauru camp to be a security risk.

The opposition Democrats leader, Andrew Bartlett, says the mental health of the Iraqi men is a concern.

He says when he visited Nauru in June the men were pretty strung out.

He says they are going to be in a much worse state now with everyone else gone.

The Senator says it's essential the duo at least get an opportunity to appeal their security assessment.