A Papua New Guinea man has successfully applied for asylum in Australia because he was at risk of persecution for being a perceived sorcerer
The man fled his remote Bougainville village. Photo: Wellington Chocolate Factory
The newspaper The Australian reports that the Refugee Review Tribunal ruled that PNG police were unable to guarantee the safety of the man, who fled his remote Bougainville village after attacks on some relatives over sorcery claims.
PNG is still struggling to eradicate violent attacks on people accused of using sorcery among its majority rural-based population.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection refused to provide recent data on asylum claims from PNG, but its annual report for 2014-15 showed 70 protection visas were granted to PNG nationals, or 77 percent of the applications received from that country.
