19 Nov 2012

Nauru asylum seekers in court on rioting and wilful damage charges

7:43 pm on 19 November 2012

Nauru police say 14 asylum seekers appeared in the Nauru District Court this morning in relation to charges of rioting and wilful damage.

15 men, all Iranians, had been charged after incidents on the 30th of September at the camp housing detainees seeking refugee status in Australia.

They are alleged to have caused about 25 thousand US dollars of damage.

14 of the men appeared in Court this morning while one man was excused from attending on medical grounds.

The Iranians were represented by a Nauruan lawyer.

The Resident Magistrate, Peter Law, says the case is unlikely to be heard before February 2013.