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I've gone deep into the shock, sudden and unexplained death of a young man on Nauru. Because nobody else has: not the Australian government, not the Nauruan government. Here's what I've uncovered so far:
A whistleblower nurse says when Rakib first showed up at the hospital with chest pain, he wasn't taken seriously. Nobody called the technician to take his bloods, they gave him Panadol and sent him home. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/rakib-khan-australia-nauru-refugee-death
Rakib's relationship with another man had been discovered in Bangladesh. He'd been tortured and faced threats that his eyes would be gouged out and penis cut off. That's why he came to Oz. But he was sent to Nauru, where he continued to face homophobia. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/rakib-khan-australia-bangladesh-refugee-death
Lying in the hospital on his last day, Rakib didn't know he was dying. He was smiling and chatting. But the doctors knew, and tried to get him to call his mother. He said no — he didn't want to worry his family. He hadn't told her he'd been detained in Nauru.
Finally, he agreed. But it was too late. Doctors sedated him. He didn't make it on to the plane that had been sent to take him to Australia for treatment. He would never wake up again.
Rakib was treated in Nauru's hospital for a pulmonary embolism. That's what was written as the cause of death on his death notice. But an autopsy by an independent Australian pathologist found it was very unlikely that's what he had. The cause of death? "Unascertained".
One of the most devastating details: Rakib's best friend, Al Mamun, tried to go and see him in the hospital that last night. But he was attacked by locals on the way. Mamun was knocked out. He ended up in the emergency ward with Khan — but as a patient. He didn't see his friend.
For Al Mamun, like many people I've spoken to for this story, Rakib's death is one of the worst things he's experienced. The trauma is still with him. He sees Rakib's dead body in his dreams. Talking to me, he said his heart was beating and his body was shaking.
Rakib's brother Ashraf didn't learn about his brother's death from the Australian or Nauruan government, he said. It was from Al Mamun phoning him. He didn't believe it — after all, his brother was 24 and healthy. He only realised it was true when he saw it reported on the ABC.
Sen @NickMcKim asked Home Affairs about Rakib's unexplained death this week. Oz hasn't held an inquiry because he died in Nauru, "a foreign jurisdiction". And Oz has rejected a coroner's recommendation to set up a system for inquiries into deaths offshore. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/investigation-rakib-khan-inquest-pezzullo-home-affairs?origin=shp
I FOI-ed any internal reports or reviews about Rakib's death held by the government. Home Affairs has two documents, it says, but refuses to release them. The reasons: it would affect our relationship with Nauru and someone (not sure who)'s privacy. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/australia-reports-young-man-nauru-death-rakib-khan
The rejection letter also said: “The subject matter of the documents does not seem to have the character of public importance.”
(I've appealed this decision.)
(I've appealed this decision.)
Rakib's family is desperate for information. His mother's health is failing. But four years of efforts have failed: Nauru has ignored their requests for an inquest, and Australia has said it's for Nauru to deal with. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/rakib-khan-death-family-fight-answers-nauru-australia
The family had to fight to even have Rakib's body repatriated to Bangladesh. And Nauru wasn't even going to allow a post-mortem examination to happen at first. Nauru's hospital hasn't handed over his medical records.
My reporting uncovered something Rakib's family was never officially told. Australian government contractors were treating him in his final hours, doctors from IHMS and Aspen Medical. Those companies have also not given Rakib's family his medical records.
IHMS wouldn't answer questions, and referred me to the Department of Home Affairs.
When I asked Aspen what their role on Nauru is, the initial response was: "Aspen Medical has not worked in offshore processing centres".
When I asked Aspen what their role on Nauru is, the initial response was: "Aspen Medical has not worked in offshore processing centres".
I've been doing some FOI-ing around Aspen Medical's role offshore for a little while. I had contracts to show Home Affairs paid them to deploy specialist, short-term teams to Nauru to treat refugees and others in Nauru's hospital. This isn't something that a lot of people know.
Aspen's spokesperson then clarified their original comment — they don't literally provide healthcare *inside* a regional processing centre.
But they had an 11-person team deployed to Nauru's hospital the day of Rakib's death. And a logbook shows they gave him meds.
But they had an 11-person team deployed to Nauru's hospital the day of Rakib's death. And a logbook shows they gave him meds.
The idea that we can't investigate because Rakib died offshore is odd. Compare Omid M, who died 11 days before. He set himself alight in Nauru, but was flown to Brisbane. His inquest has been running a year.
The only difference is that Rakib was too sick to get on his plane.
The only difference is that Rakib was too sick to get on his plane.
Australia is obviously also involved in Nauru: we sent Rakib there, Australian-contracted doctors treated him, we sent the medevac plane to bring him to Australia, Nauru's police handed the phone to an AFP officer when lawyers called to request an inquest.
When Rakib's brother went to the Australian High Commission in Bangladesh in the days after his death, he said nobody would speak to him for hours. He was told: if your brother died in Nauru, that's a matter for Nauru.
(I did not thread my tweets properly, here's the last little bit.) https://twitter.com/HannahD15/status/1235756768895987713
NEW: @NickMcKim, @Stirling_G and @drkerrynphelps say there should be an inquiry into Rakib Khan's death. https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahryan/rakib-khan-death-nauru-politicians-call-for-inquiry
