London, July 26 : Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a royal commission of inquiry after the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) aired a footage of teenagers being abused, teargassed, hooded and restrained for hours at Don Dale detention facility outside Darwin in the country's Northern Territory.
The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, Northern Territory, has also said that the abuse in the Australian juvenile detention 'may amount to torture.' The Prime Minister said that he was "deeply shocked .. and appalled" at instances of abuse at the centre, revealed by an investigation by the national broadcaster ABC on Monday, reports The Guardian.
In the footage 17-year-old Dylan Voller was shown hooded and tied in a restraint chair for two hours. The footage broadcast in the Four Corners programme was recorded in 2014 and 2015. The programme also examined long-running issues and instances of mistreatment in the Northern Territory youth justice system.
CCTV footage showed the restraint and spit-hooding of one youth, as well as another being stripped and physically held down by guards.
Within a couple of hours of the show ending, more than 3,000 people had signed a petition calling for a royal commission of inquiry.
In announcing the royal commission inquiry, Turnbull said the Don Dale centre had to be examined specifically but the inquiry would also consider "whether there is a culture that spreads across the detention system in the Northern Territory, whether it was specific to that centre".
The precise terms of the royal commission inquiry remain unclear. Turnbull said children in detention should be treated humanely but did not call for Don Dale to be immediately shut down.
He said the royal commission would be established and report as soon as possible and be conducted jointly with the Northern Territory government.
