Asylum protest ends

21 September 2010 11:51 am

Nine asylum seekers in Australia have ended their protest on the roof of a Sydney detention centre after 29 hours. The men, who are Tamils from Sri Lanka, had threatened to jump off the roof unless the Immigration Department agreed to review their applications.

The men came down after talks with officials from the UN's refugee body, which may now look into their cases. The protest at the Villawood Centre followed the suicide of a fellow detainee from Fiji on Monday. Josefa Rauluni, 36, jumped to his death hours before he was to be deported, refugee advocates say. Mr Rauluni had been held at the centre since 17 August, officials said. (BBC)