The 22 were among 30 people who were booked by police on April 10 while showing solidarity with more than 60 refugees who were being detained inside the Mantra Hotel in Preston. They were each fined $1652 for allegedly violating a COVID-19 lockdown order.
The refugees had been brought to Australia from Manus Island and Nauru for medical treatment under the now abandoned Medavac law. Most did not receive adequate treatment and all were placed in crowded conditions where guards regularly violated social distancing rules.
The car cavalcade aimed to raise the morale of the refugees and draw attention to the new detention system.
Activists argued that their action was about care and compassion, one of the four reasons people were allowed to leave home at that time.
Regular protests were organised outside both hotel prisons, while some refugees challenged their detention in court.
As a result of the protests and the legal action, the federal government began releasing some of the refugees. About 12 the original 65 refugees remain in the Park Hotel, however a number of those detained in the Kangaroo Point Hotel have been bought to the Park Hotel prison. About 25 refugees remain trapped there now.
Those who have been released on temporary visas have received no support from the federal government. Some have found work, often under highly exploitative conditions, while others are dependent on assistance from refugee supporters and charities.
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One of the refugees released yesterday was
Mostafa Azimitabar (Moz), who was held in detention for eight years. Yes, eight years locked away for literally exercising his right to seek asylum.
In 2013, Moz was sent to a detention centre in Manus Island for attempting to seek asylum. During that time, he witnessed riots and told The Feed he went without food for 24 days and had to dig for water when Australia withdrew all its services in 2017.
Moz has held a fighting-spirit throughout his time in detention, creating music and documenting his struggle on social media. In doing so he has attracted so much love and support from the public, including support from