Refugee advocates rallied at the offices of ACT federal MPs and senators on Thursday afternoon to protest the deportation of the pregnant Somali refugee who says she was raped on Nauru.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Abyan's lawyers said she was denied access to an interpreter and counselling.
Protesters congregated outside the Bunda Street office of Senator Zed Seselja before marching on the offices of Senator Katy Gallagher and Fraser MP Andrew Leigh.
A separate delegation targeted the office of Memberfor Canberra Gai Brodtmann.
Activists presented the politicians with a motion passed by a public forum organised by Canberra's Refugee Action Committee last Monday, calling on parliamentarians to publicly demand Abyan be returned to Australia and be given access to appropriate medical and legal counsel.
Dr John Minns from the Refugee Action Committee said it was time Canberra's elected representatives put themselves on the record in support of Abyan's plight.
"This is a terrible human tragedy that people can see and empathise with and I think if you ask people in Canberra, if you ask what they think should be done about Abyan, they would say, 'bring her back'. Why aren't our parliamentarians also saying, 'bring her back'?" Dr Minns said.
"More than 50 incidents of abuse have been reported on Nauru. We know that they've admitted people have been raped there so we know that this isn't a safe place for anyone let alone a woman who has been traumatised in this way and she should be brought back to Australia immediately."
Eve Hofstetter drove from Bega to attend the event.
Dressed as an angel, she believed "as a mother and a woman" it was important to stand behind Abyan.
"That a country like Australia would do this to a woman is a disgrace," she said.
Protesters also raised the issues of human rights abuses on Manus Island.
Ms Hofstetter planned to share the story of her friend, Iraqi asylum seeker Mohammad Albederee, who is on hunger strike on Manus Island.
"They have been in limbo since the beginning of the year. They've fled torture only to be brought [there]," she said.
The lunchtime protest followed the group's Garema Place protest earlier this month, where thousands marched in support of welcoming refugees to Australia.
