Nauru Says Leaked Files Fabricated, Refugees Used as Political 'Pawns'

The government of the Republic of Nauru on Tuesday accused the media and politicians of using refugees for political aims, claiming that the leaked Nauru files on the conditions at the Australian offshore immigration processing center were mostly fabricated.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On August 10, The Guardian newspaper published over 2,000 leaked files on the state of affairs in the Australia-run asylum-seeker center on the island nation of Nauru, revealing large-scale sexual and physical abuse, with 51.3 percent of cases involving minors.

Most refugee & advocate claims on Nauru fabricated to achieve goal to get to Aust. So called "reports" based solely on these claims #fact

— Republic of Nauru (@Republic_Nauru) 16 августа 2016 г.

Aust left wing media, greens MPs and advocates still using refugees as pawns for their political agendas. Very sad.

— Republic of Nauru (@Republic_Nauru) 16 августа 2016 г.

Australia detains people who come to the country to seek asylum on the islands of Manus in Papua New Guinea and Nauru, a practice which has been criticized by rights groups for subjecting the detainees to inhumane conditions.

The Nauru facility was opened in 2001 and run until 2008. In 2012, it was reopened following a surge in the number of maritime arrivals of asylum seekers.

Earlier in August, two prominent human rights organizations — Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch — published a report based on their representatives' undercover visits to the Nauru processing center, which concluded that people being held in the Nauru detention center were being attacked on a daily basis, subjected to inhuman living conditions and denied medical care while the authorities of both countries ignored the violations.